Lawsuits, War & Robotech: The Secret History of Exosquad

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
  • Thank you to Spero Toys for sponsoring this video. Preorder Animal Warriors of the Kingdom Primal Series at Big Bad Toy Store Today: www.bigbadtoys...
    Exosquad was a 52 episode animated series that ran in syndication in the US in 1993 and 1994 about the interplanetary war between humanity and Neosapiens, a fictional race artificially created as workers/slaves for the Terrans.
    However, no one could have foreseen the absolute crap-storm just releasing Exosquad was going to bring with it but then also deciding, for some reason, to release Robotech action figures as part of the line of toys.
    Lawsuits involving Battletech, FASA, Tyco, Harmony Gold and Playmates Toys ensued.
    We'll do our best to lay out the secrets behind Exosquads short life and long legacy.
    Our History of Robotech Playlist: • The History of Robotech
    Our Battletech video: • The Wild History of Ba...
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ความคิดเห็น • 766

  • @taurincochran3398
    @taurincochran3398 2 ปีที่แล้ว +360

    I love how you don't "just" talk about toys, but dig into the legal and financial struggles of a franchise, as well as going deeper into the minutia of those struggles. Keep being awesome! 😁

    • @DarthG33k
      @DarthG33k 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      This is precisely why these guys are awesome!

    • @taurincochran3398
      @taurincochran3398 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@DarthG33k yes sir!😁

    • @vaguerant
      @vaguerant 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Absolutely, it's the deep dives that keep these interesting even when it's a subject I've never heard of or don't care about. Great research and writing.

    • @AgentNevets
      @AgentNevets 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Absolutely

    • @comettamer
      @comettamer 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It does make things way more interesting, don't it?

  • @wstine79
    @wstine79 2 ปีที่แล้ว +270

    Lawsuits. The only thing that can successfully take down a Mech Suit.

    • @CantankerousDave
      @CantankerousDave 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Harmony Gold knows this well.

    • @thallus23
      @thallus23 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      😂😂

    • @RayShadow278
      @RayShadow278 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      This is the plot of Dai-Guard lol

    • @kamal_jab
      @kamal_jab 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Even super robot are not safe from lawsuit.Orbot would be a legendary series if tonka and their gobots does not eager to destroy it

    • @Belgand
      @Belgand 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@RayShadow278 I really wish Dai-Guard was more about legal technicalities, bureaucratic red tape, and how mecha tropes are unrealistic, and a lot less about the power of friendship and stepping up to be an unlikely hero. They ended up almost totally ignoring the core joke in favor of generic anime tropes.

  • @khandimahn9687
    @khandimahn9687 2 ปีที่แล้ว +173

    Exosquad was incredibly mature for a cartoon outside of Japan. It really deserved better. I think, in the right hands, a reboot could do really well today.

    • @thebigunodos3559
      @thebigunodos3559 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Yes!

    • @jackkoffin1
      @jackkoffin1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I loved the show as a kid for exactly that reason, though I probably couldn't have articulated that idea very well. But I remember that it didn't feel as dumbed down as a lot of other cartoons at the time, and it felt way more serious about its story than the other shows I could've compared it to, namely Transformers and GI Joe. I had almost no exposure to mature Japanese Anime shows until I was much older.

    • @lipstickzombie4981
      @lipstickzombie4981 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      The only other cartoon that I can think rivaling this on seriousness is Spiral Zone

    • @jackkoffin1
      @jackkoffin1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@lipstickzombie4981 Holy cow, you just solved a 35 year old mystery for me. I remember I had a Spiral Zone toy as a kid and I've spend years trying to remember what it was. The action figures came with a storyline cassette tape that played out like a radio drama. Never knew for sure that there was a cartoon to go with it, but I suspected there was. Thank you!

    • @gutsygutman2475
      @gutsygutman2475 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Absolutely! The episode when Nara returns to her parents farm to find her brother on Venus, felt incredibly mature of a topic for young kids.

  • @SwiftTrooper5
    @SwiftTrooper5 2 ปีที่แล้ว +112

    "The legal fights between Hasbro and Harmony Gold are both legendary and STUPID."
    This got me chuckling. Thank you, Dan.

    • @UnexpectedHistory
      @UnexpectedHistory 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      I've been a Robotech fan since it originally aired, but I can't stand how Harmony Gold has mishandled the brand. From stupid lawsuits to the almost total lack of new content, Harmony Gold needs to lose the rights to it entirely and let someone else revive Robotech in the modern era...

    • @Kaimax61
      @Kaimax61 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@UnexpectedHistory it's been THANKFULLY kinda resolved. back in April 2021.
      It's now a "you don't bother me, I don't bother you" situation. The Agreement basically says, The distribution of Macross or robotech will be allowed.
      So Bigwest and Nue Studios can finally import any new Macross stuff in english, and Harmony Gold can do the fuck it wants to do with Robotech projects.

  • @Getwright-
    @Getwright- 2 ปีที่แล้ว +144

    I tell people all the time, that one episode where the main villain describes the one time in his life that he was happy, was profoundly moving and influential to me as a child. It made kid me cry. Such a amazing show

    • @nobalkain624
      @nobalkain624 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      This show was the closet thing to an Anime we ever got at the time. I was crushed when we never got another Season as that cliff hanger was intense.

    • @charlespancamo9771
      @charlespancamo9771 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@nobalkain624 oh yea, it was like the show was about to take a whole nother sci-fi turn and then boom.. it was over. Such a shame. One good thing came out of that though - the prices of the toys skyrocketed! I made 1000 dollars off my collection a couple years ago! haha

    • @fullarmourtracksuit4023
      @fullarmourtracksuit4023 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Really, that’s the story you tell people all the time?

    • @deathproofpony
      @deathproofpony 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@fullarmourtracksuit4023 Does that make you angry? Maybe you should stop cucking yourself and go outside and touch grass.

    • @yaoming2264
      @yaoming2264 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      This was when phaeton reminisced when before the war he was at the University of Chicago. So full of hope….. how sad

  • @Ryanizer1000
    @Ryanizer1000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +109

    This show REALLY stuck the landing on complicated and nuanced issues like slavery, free will, grieving loss, politics, and other themes that at the time were the exclusive providence of anime, no wonder they were going to bring in Robotech

    • @thallus23
      @thallus23 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      This was one of the few shows where a main character died too! That was not done back then.

    • @101000102
      @101000102 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I never saw the ending. How did the show “stick the landing?”

    • @thallus23
      @thallus23 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@101000102 The humans defeated Phaeton and the Neosapiens, however there came a new threat that was never explored. The show ended on that note.

  • @grennbalze
    @grennbalze 2 ปีที่แล้ว +75

    Exp Squad was such a good show. It dealt with a lot of serious and heavy topics, and had such cool toys!

  • @AzureSkyStudios
    @AzureSkyStudios 2 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    Thank you so much for this video, my father Michael Edens passed last year, and I know he always appreciated all of the fans of the series. Jeff was briefly in talks with Crunchyroll of all places about a reboot, but unfortunately between the buyout from Funimation and other factors, talks were uneventful. Great video, and thanks for telling folks about one of my dad's favorite projects he ever worked on.

    • @fiveoctaves
      @fiveoctaves 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Sorry about your father.
      So that is the update. Jeff mentioned development of a reboot but it's been over a year-and-a-half. Sad. As the dust settles and the "new" Crunchyroll takes off, maybe it can be revisited? I hope the issue isn't that they are focusing on Robotech.

    • @graptakular
      @graptakular ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I am happy to know that those who worked on the show had the passion and love for it as the fans did. Thank you for sharing.

    • @J_Alfred
      @J_Alfred ปีที่แล้ว +4

      This show was one of the best sci fi series of all time, up there with The Expanse or For All Mankind. I wish I could thank your father, at least I can share my gratitude with someone close to him. Thanks once more 🙏

  • @MrTheMighty
    @MrTheMighty 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    ...Now I'm imagining a day when the US military unveils designs for an actual mech made for combat and Harmony Gold sues for copyright infringement. Sounds like exactly the kind of goofy thing that would happen.

  • @mechaplatypus82
    @mechaplatypus82 2 ปีที่แล้ว +67

    Exo Squad was so good. It was the first animated show I remember watching where people actually died and there were consequences. I still have some of the toys and pilots floating around somewhere at my parents house.

    • @scottlyttle5586
      @scottlyttle5586 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Interesting that Robotech was one of the other series that killed off a main character..

    • @junrosamura645
      @junrosamura645 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      The death scenes where a shocker as a child and I loved it. Made me wonder why GI Joes never got killed with all that gun fire in the show. The robotech cross over was odd and I refused to pick them up when I saw them on the shelf.

    • @baltousprime7897
      @baltousprime7897 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@junrosamura645 In G.I. Joe: The Movie we saw Duke slip into a coma only because after the outcry of what happened in Transformers: The Movie which had got its release pushed into theatres prior to G.I. Joe. Because Optimus Prime dies and gave many kids life long traumatic shock Duke who was supposed to die, never did. Maybe Toy Galaxy could sum up the whole ordeal better.

    • @chrisbaker8533
      @chrisbaker8533 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@scottlyttle5586 They killed a lot of main characters in that show off.
      I mean jeez they wiped out the entire bridge crew in the final episode of season 1.

    • @charlespancamo9771
      @charlespancamo9771 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      those things are valuable! even just a single missile can go for 12-18 bucks! I made 1000 bucks on my collection a couple years ago and prices have only gone up. I sold one of the robotech walkers for 100 dollars! It's crazy.

  • @jemkey6930
    @jemkey6930 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Dad was telling me that during the summer of 94 he had received his check from work and stopped by a Walmart. There the clearance section was full of marked down ExoSquad toys to make way for that season's new Christmas arrivals. Yes he bought as many as he could to get the whole set. Sadly they were in a box next to his USS Flagg in the storage building fire.

  • @gregthorne4292
    @gregthorne4292 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Hot Take: the Battletech mythology and “Blood of Kerensky” trilogy is one of the best ‘mech stories out there, and should be made into a movie or high-budget HBO series. Imagine the mechs of “Pacific Rim” with the political intrigue of “Game of Thrones”, with the gritty futurism of “Star Wars”. It’s a shame that the FASA/Harmony Gold fiasco is likely to keep this from becoming a reality.

    • @Belgand
      @Belgand 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Leave some credit for Catalyst Game Labs being wildly incompetent as well! And how the rights now rest with Topps due to all of the sales and buy-outs.

  • @stormsigma
    @stormsigma 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    It never ceases to give me a sense of wonder in how so many of these properties were just a business entity in order to sell a product, yet to their fans (almost all of whom are middle aged adults at this point), they were real stories with universes of possibility. Characters we rooted for, or even were inspired by, villains we loved to hate (or even just loved), stories that we remember to this day, toys we remember creating our own stories with, man, just wild.

  • @mikekz4489
    @mikekz4489 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Ah Exo Squad. Thanks for making me into a dork at an age when I should have at least TRIED to age out of liking toys and cartoons. You were just too damned good. ;)

    • @jcjc4164
      @jcjc4164 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Those toons and toys were made by adults and the show had mature themes.

  • @schrodingersgat4344
    @schrodingersgat4344 2 ปีที่แล้ว +55

    The most memorable moment, for me, in the show occurred when the heavy weapons specialist had to use the comms suit. He had compatibility issues. The characters are chiding to get moving. The suit pipes up in complaint.
    He says he can think of something the suit can do. He squints really hard, and you see the thoughts zip down the wire.
    " This Exo-frame is physically incapable of completing that task"
    He had told it to go fuck itself.

    • @pathevermore3683
      @pathevermore3683 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Bronski

    • @schrodingersgat4344
      @schrodingersgat4344 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@pathevermore3683 Thank you!
      I couldn't {for the life of me} remember.
      The moment, though, STUCK.

    • @Autobubbs
      @Autobubbs 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@pathevermore3683 Good ole Bronski.

    • @MrDibara
      @MrDibara ปีที่แล้ว +2

      ​@@AutobubbsI still remember the Genesis/Mega Drive game and how Bronski during a cutscene is trying to acquire enemy data from a computer... *when the thing suddenly asksfor a password.*
      I kid you not, one of his failed attempts was to literally type "password" as the answer. 🤦‍♂️

    • @sethraelthebard5459
      @sethraelthebard5459 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      And the following scene with Admiral Winfield saying "Were those last few pictures upside-down?" There were so many small nuances that made the show so unique in it's era. I hope that somehow, someday, Exo-Squad will become popular again.

  • @ReaverPrime
    @ReaverPrime 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    To this day, I'm still butthurt about the cliffhanger that ended the show. I absolutely LOVED ExoSquad as a kid. It had a solid timeslot where I lived at the time and it came on 3 days a week. I followed it religiously all three times the series played through, waiting patiently for the new season.
    Even in my 40s now, I would definitely jump on the bandwagon if the show made a comeback today. The material is powerful enough to carry a franchise beyond toys. I would go see a movie. I would buy a game on Steam or Playstation. And I would watch a weekly show if it went back to that, I haven't watch a weekly show in many MANY years.

    • @kaisarr7632
      @kaisarr7632 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      It was suppose to get a season 3 but the timeslot changed hurt the ratings and the network got bought out

    • @ReaverPrime
      @ReaverPrime 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@kaisarr7632 I know the backstory. Plus, no showrunner would purposely end on a cliffhanger if they knew weren't getting renewed.

    • @Autobubbs
      @Autobubbs 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Same here!

    • @travisbishop782
      @travisbishop782 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      You and me both!

    • @fiveoctaves
      @fiveoctaves 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Three days a week? How strange. If it had ended an episode early, we wouldn't be nearly as distraught but alas...

  • @bradbradfordson9158
    @bradbradfordson9158 2 ปีที่แล้ว +69

    I loved these toys and always wondered how this brand could have possibly died when it had so much going for it. This is eye opening.

  • @aaronfountain4933
    @aaronfountain4933 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    I remember taking back bottles and cans for weeks, saving up to buy some Joes. When I finally had 12 bucks my ma drove me to Walmart. I eagerly looked up and down the shelves and my eyes fell on Jt Marsh with his sweet winged mech. Any thought of GiJoe went out the window.

    • @ranwolf7650
      @ranwolf7650 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I had a similar story but replace GIJoe with Voltron and Exo-Squad with Transformers' Jetfire

    • @karmaq8462
      @karmaq8462 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You mean gi Joe extreem ?

    • @aaronfountain4933
      @aaronfountain4933 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      More like GiJoe ninja force, eco squad, and a few of the space figures.

  • @twizzum5
    @twizzum5 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    I'm happy that this masterpiece is getting its proper recognition..videos like this are keeping it alive..hopefully they'll be a continuation one day

  • @Ripster40
    @Ripster40 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Man Harmony Gold has literally ruined everything that I love. Both Macross and Battletech. I'm glad that terribly history is done with.

  • @BaconHer0
    @BaconHer0 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Harmony Gold should ask themselves if they're the bad guys because the answer is yes

    • @harlannguyen4048
      @harlannguyen4048 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I THINK they may have cleaned up their act, since they're finally moving forward with the Robotech movie and have plans to release Macross material in the west with support of Big West.

  • @The_Infinite_Squirrel
    @The_Infinite_Squirrel 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This will be my first "first comment" on TH-cam. Dan Rules! The new icon is cool, too.

  • @chrisbaker8533
    @chrisbaker8533 2 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    I've always found it kind of depressing just how big robotech could have been, if harmony gold didn't have its head up its litigious butt.

    • @Belgand
      @Belgand 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Or, even better, if they'd never made Robotech in the first place and just faithfully translated Macross. They would have made plenty of money on subsequent Macross series as well instead of digging in to patent troll for their hack-job.

    • @chrisbaker8533
      @chrisbaker8533 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Belgand I'll kindly disagree, the differences were fairly minor between SDF macross and Robotech: the Macross saga.
      There's a litany of reasons i could go into to demonstrate it wouldn't have happened the way you think, but we'll never know.

    • @EGOS42
      @EGOS42 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Belgand The problem with your argument is that is exactly what they initially set out to do - translate Macross for U.S. distribution. The run of only 36 episodes wasn't enough to secure television syndication in the United States at the time. So it was necessary for them to tack on the other 2 series to meet syndication requirements just to get on the air. What they did was necessary just to get Macross on TV. I won't excuse their many misteps since but realize their hands were tied at the beginning.

    • @BBHood217
      @BBHood217 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I like to imagine that in an alternate timeline, Harmony Gold waited until Macross Frontier and then turned that into Robotech; with how insanely popular Macross F was and still is, that Robotech probably would've become bigger than the one in this timeline.

    • @chrisbaker8533
      @chrisbaker8533 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@BBHood217 Nah. Robotech is a product of the time period it came out in.
      Too many things changed in the intervening years between 1985 and 2008 to make it viable.

  • @danieljeyn9847
    @danieljeyn9847 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Gah. Late GenX childhood meant everything that had great potential got cut short by Harmony Gold lawsuits. They were the HotRod to our playtime's Optimus Prime. The Artax to our imagination. The Buffalo Bills to everything that could have been great.

  • @wesh8121
    @wesh8121 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    "WHEN fans could find exosquad , it did well"-I feel this so hard! I loved EXOSQUAD but it seemed like it was never on at the same time, it would be on twice on week and only once(and a completely different day) the next. So frustrating, and disappointing!

  • @bluedotdinosaur
    @bluedotdinosaur 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I unironically love that the mere mention of Harmony Gold / Robotech is now on the level of the "the call is coming from inside the house".

  • @nicholasromig5506
    @nicholasromig5506 2 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    I always wondered why it was so hard to find this show on TV. it suddenly makes such perfect sense.
    you didn't mention it but I'd like to pilot the Robotech season 3 Beta fighter, that thing was awesome.

    • @davidgannon5388
      @davidgannon5388 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I'll pilot the Alpha fighter, and we can link up!

    • @jay112281
      @jay112281 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I remember it airing at 9:30, I was usually in school at that time. Not sure if it ever aired at a time that made it watchable for school age kids.

    • @nicholasromig5506
      @nicholasromig5506 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jay112281 yeah what a brilliant idea, airing a show for 8-12 year olds when most of them are in school

    • @davidgannon5388
      @davidgannon5388 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      What a shame! It aired at 3:30 pm here. It's the chief reason I so despise He-Man. Guess what show took over its time slot when it was finally replaced?

  • @MantisRapture
    @MantisRapture 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    I've only just clicked on this and not even started watching the video, so I'll get this out of the way now; I've been awaiting you guys taking on Exo-Squad for a long time. There's no other channel out there that could do it justice and talk about it with the knowledge and honesty that I know you're gonna deliver.
    EDIT: I thought you'd talked about this show before...I'm really drunk and questioned my memory. Turns out I was right, but this was a wonderful update and follow-up to the original video.

    • @MonkeyPunchZPoker
      @MonkeyPunchZPoker 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      You were amnesia rayed by Harmony Gold lawyers.

  • @DementedDistraction
    @DementedDistraction 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Exosquad was great, I used to catch it every morning before middle school - the opening theme was a banger, it always hyped me up before I had to walk to school.
    I still have my Phaeton and Marsala figures with their E-Frames, and the lights and sounds on Marsala's E-Frame still work despite my never having changed the batteries.🤷‍♂

  • @elknolasshrineofraja3966
    @elknolasshrineofraja3966 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    🌸😹I am always made to smile when I visit this channel and it truly is a treasure of TH-cam.😹🌸

  • @DoomedPaladin
    @DoomedPaladin 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This was one of those transformative shows back in the day that elevated everyone that watched it to another level of maturity (at least, while they were watching it). Some of the Thundercats/Silverhawks/Bravestarr hows hit that mark too, for a few episodes anyways, as did all the early airings of anime on syndicated tv and early cable. It paved the way for shows like Avatar the Last Airbender and others. Love it.

  • @zatransis
    @zatransis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    This was great… again! I remember trying to catch Exosquad at 6 or 6:30 AM before school. I would actually get up early to try and catch it.
    Also, the original run of toys were the absolute best. They were so well made and completely fulfilled the fantasy set by the show.

    • @thallus23
      @thallus23 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I used to watch it in the morning before school too 😎

  • @darth_reason2315
    @darth_reason2315 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Excellent episode. We were late to school several times because Exo-Squad was randomly on in the mornings and our dad would watch it with us. Guess I got a reason to get Peacock now….

  • @Kujakuseki01
    @Kujakuseki01 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    One of the many shows that I was devastated about because it doesn’t have an ending.

  • @JimMahoneyBot
    @JimMahoneyBot 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Me and my brother loved this show more than any other at the time. It was on in the afternoons where we were in MA. The weeks where they had 4 or 5 new episodes were a godsend. We ate it up and couldn’t wait until the next new episode. The wartime storyline from multiple POVs explains my love for DS9 a few years later…

    • @jacobmanalang8162
      @jacobmanalang8162 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      i used to mircowave cheese on mission chips and watch this show. that was the shit

  • @DandySlayer13
    @DandySlayer13 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I use to watch EXO Squad with my mom when I was little because the story was pretty darn good for a Saturday morning kids cartoon and my mom was enthralled almost as much as I was lol. She also liked watching X-Men as well!

    • @orcsmash9
      @orcsmash9 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Your Mom is cool. Mine also watched stuff like that and played video games.

  • @slipshodaverage844
    @slipshodaverage844 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This may have been the toyline I had the most from, aside from TMNT, as a kid. I remember having battles with the giant robot from the weird GI Joe Star Brigade. The transforming E-frames, like JT's motorcycle, had tons of play value.

  • @matthewrenn
    @matthewrenn 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I remember seeing this show as a kid and explaining the plot of an episode to my mom and my mom being baffled that that kind of content was in a kid's show.

  • @MikeKaess
    @MikeKaess 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Here's my secret. I'm an Exosquad poser. I remember it coming out. i remember the show coming on. I remember seeing the toys on the shelves. But I never watched an episode. I never got any of the toys. But if anyone ever asks me about Exosquad, i always say, "Oh yeah, Exosquad was awesome." Great video.

  • @dokoookami5751
    @dokoookami5751 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Smooth retelling and analysis!! I was barely of age when Exosquad hit the airwaves, but I remember feeling like I was actually learning from that show -- the austerity and intrigue were amazing given the animation at the time; kids watching that learned to grapple with actual PolySci, eugenics, classicism, ethics, and some refreshingly deep morality for a Saturday AM toon. Worth digging up online!

  • @whoijacket
    @whoijacket 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    A lot of that generation’s first kinda sorta “Gundam-esque” show

  • @pilotpen01
    @pilotpen01 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    20:57 "Exosquad may return one day ready, willing, and able." I wonder if this was an intentional pun because JT Marsh's team was called Able Squad. I wasn't expecting another Exosquad video but hey, more Exosquad is always better. Even if season 3 wasn't realized, other media to continue the story might have been successful but we'll never know. I was fortunate to pick up season 1 on DVD hoping that Universal would release season 2 but no.

  • @maxordman4100
    @maxordman4100 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I loved these toys as a kid! It’s so super cool to see Exo-squad get attention again! The E-frame suits were amazing! The show was pretty cool too. I definitely need to look up that DVD set! Thanks again Dan! Your videos are so awesome!

  • @ScarriorIII
    @ScarriorIII ปีที่แล้ว +2

    You need to go over Stargate Infinity, Roughnecks STC, and the Wing Commander animated series.

  • @amandacarter291
    @amandacarter291 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I loved the exo squad video game and toys

  • @CloudCobra22
    @CloudCobra22 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    And then it turned out that Harmony Gold didn’t have the rights it thought it did

  • @aaronorenstein5963
    @aaronorenstein5963 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I vaguely remember a cousin having some of these toys.
    Ever since experiencing the show when it was on Hulu, I’ve considered it a top favorite. Whenever one thinks of the ‘Sci-Fi Top Five’ that seemingly all nerds are into, it’s usually Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Mass Effect, and Firefly. (At least that’s what I’ve thought.) For me though, my personal ‘Sci-Fi Five’, in chronological order, is as follows:
    1. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
    2. Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers
    3. Robotech
    4. Exosquad
    5. Sliders

    • @deadmetalbr
      @deadmetalbr 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Don't forget Stargate! Maybe not these days but it was popular enough to stay on tv for like 15 years. Or Babylon 5. Me, I had a soft spot for Andromeda (and Lexa Doig 😍).

  • @geardog24
    @geardog24 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    While I do want Exo Squad to come back, a series where former slaves are the bad guy may not look nowadays.

    • @aloysiusdrake7471
      @aloysiusdrake7471 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Ummm, Orville's Kaylons?

    • @Stonegolem6
      @Stonegolem6 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Not as a kids show and I don't think the nostalgia base is broad enough for an adult oriented version.

    • @thisithis
      @thisithis 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Not all of them. Marcella stayed fighting for the Human side. Then there was Thrax who fart on Phaeton's side, but in the end, realized the war was nothing but a cruel joke and wanted no more with whatever Phaeton was planning. And all the Neo-Mega realized Phaeton was wrong, but sadly Phaeton had all but one killed leaving only one to see that Phaeton was nothing but a psychotic.

  • @Furluge
    @Furluge 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Exo-squad was great. I loved it as a kid. It really is a shame all this legal crap had to happen. Harmony Gold is quite possibly one of most hostile companies to fans I've ever seen. Only one I can think of that might be worst is Palladium, which is funny because they're a Harmony Gold business partner in the Macross and Robotech RPG and they basically fleeced all their fans for 1.4M for thousands of dollars by failing to deliver on their Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter. Literally no one was happy to hear that Tatsunoko extended Harmony Gold's license after it was set to expire in 2021. The only silver lining of that agreement was it allowed for Macross series that Harmony Gold had been preventing from being distributed outside of Japan to finally be distributed and The Right Stuf picked up the ball and is bringing us Macross 7, Macross Delta, and Macross Frontier.
    Better grab those now before Harmony Gold does something screwy somehow and they vanish into the pit. I'm inclined to think Tatsunoko extended the license simply because Harmony Gold has so badly destroyed the Macross brand outside of Japan that they don't think it's worth trying to fix it.
    Also if you had to pilot one, definitely the Macross Valkyrie. No one wants to pilot a Battletech Wasp. That thing's a death trap with all that MG ammo in it's default configuration.

  • @TopsideCrisis346
    @TopsideCrisis346 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This series blew my mind as a kid. A continuous narrative, themes of war and politics, characters dying and getting grievously wounded, an entire artificial slave race - to say this was anime before anime happened in the U.S. almost misses the point. This was a kid's action show, and its purpose was to sell toys, true enough. But it never talked down to its audience. It never insulted their intelligence, or tried to insulate them from the hard truths of war. This wasn't G.I. Joe, with an almost invincible team of super-soldiers pew-pewing through a cartoonish bunch of the world's lamest terrorists with laser guns. This was as gritty, raw, and real as war could get on a Saturday morning in the '90s; the stakes were high, the injuries hurt, and the prize was no less than the survival of the human race.
    By the time I discovered this series, I was pretty much past the age of playing with action figures. But I still had plenty of Lego, and this series inspired the bros and I to build some incredible mechs of our own. Maybe one day, I'll find some old photos of those things, put 'em up on Facebook or something. Hopefully, no one sues.

  • @immediateegret2120
    @immediateegret2120 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    19:30 I keep my JT Marsh figure on my desk, and I can confirm "Jimbo" here came from the same mold from the neck down!
    Exosquad is near and dear to me, and it has aged amazingly well compared to many of its contemporaries. At the time I was too young to understand why it resonated so much more than some of the other cartoons I watched, and thanks to the scheduling debacle it wasn't until decades later I was able to see the second season in its entirety (which made the cliffhanger ending that much more painful, coming back to the series after so long only to learn it didn't have a proper resolution). Revisiting it gave me a whole new appreciation for the storytelling.
    Thanks as always for the deep-dive, TG. It never ceases to amaze and dismay how many stories will never be told thanks to businesses fighting over who has permission to sell them.

  • @GrandTheftWatto
    @GrandTheftWatto 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Everything Playmates made had a house style - you could always tell it was them despite all the different licenses and genres. Their Exosquad toys were pretty great!

  • @tonyblock84
    @tonyblock84 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Been rewatching the show on Peacock. For a show appealing to kids it was really mature and grim. It deserved a 3rd season.

  • @RyanRead
    @RyanRead 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    My brothers loved the show and I got into it later. Was upset we didn’t get season 3. There was a great set for it.

  • @lockleeddown7148
    @lockleeddown7148 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I loved Exosquad, but it was almost impossible to follow the series when it aired. I think it swapped the time it aired three times during the period I was trying to watch it. It was crack of dawn early at the end, and that's where I lost it. Love seeing its history though!

    • @Captain_Chaz86
      @Captain_Chaz86 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      they didn't play the episodes in order in my area of the US. and it switched networks in my area not once but 3 different times.

  • @steve43ful
    @steve43ful 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Harmony Gold is definitely one of the companies of all time.

  • @davidromeroblaya7920
    @davidromeroblaya7920 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I played the Genesis/Megadrive game and, yes, it was mediocre but I still remember the voice of the narrator saying "The Exosquad" in the most dramatic form possible.

  • @Mecha82
    @Mecha82 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    You forgot to mention two important things about lawsuit. One Harmony Gold didn't actually have master licence like they claimed and two whole thing started from Playmaters having very Timber Wolf/Mad Cat looking toy in they Exo Squad toy line and FASA taking notice to that.

    • @ScooterinAB
      @ScooterinAB 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Pretty sure he mentioned the second one, and the first one isn't terribly relevant to this story and was covered in the n part series on Robotech.

  • @SenorGato237
    @SenorGato237 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    As a child, I loved Exo-Squad, it singlehandedly jumpstarted my mecha-boner.
    Now, as an adult and a veteran, having seen war and it's aftermath firsthand, it fucking slaps.

  • @bbrod14
    @bbrod14 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Dan probably has the whole "Harmony Gold Entertainment... Three different shows..." speech burned into his subconscious at this stage. Can probably recite it in his sleep.

  • @fiveoctaves
    @fiveoctaves 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Jeff Segal did state in 2021 that a reboot series was in the works and Will Meugniot confirmed stating that he declined Jeff's invitation to return to the series. Unfortunately we have heard nothing since... UPDATE: live-action movie in development, no series at this time but possibly in the future.

  • @beniverson3777
    @beniverson3777 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I loved the show as a kid, and still have my toys in storage. I rewatched it a couple years ago and it holds up pretty well, it's like a precursor to battlestar galactica, but for kids

    • @samellowery
      @samellowery 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah unlike he-man or gi joe exo squad is still good.

    • @beniverson3777
      @beniverson3777 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@samellowery The GI Joe show is pretty lame, but the movie holds up. The animation on the scene when Pythona is breaking into Cobra compound is still fantastic.

  • @zatransis
    @zatransis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I haven’t watched yet. But I love Exosquad. Looking forward to this!

  • @MSGSlayer1
    @MSGSlayer1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So the 'heroes' of Exo Squad fought their genetically bred slaves and the descendants of criminals they've isolated from society. No wonder I dropped this show after Episode 1.
    And if I hear Dana Sterling shout "Zor" one more time, it'll be too soon.

    • @AzureSkyStudios
      @AzureSkyStudios 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      It's a shame that you did, because that kind of hypocrisy is exactly the tone the writers (including my father Michael) wanted to convey as being wrong. Able Squad spends most of the series questioning what is right and wrong in war, and the answer often comes up "there is nothing right about war or slavery."

  • @brianjl7477
    @brianjl7477 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    EXO Squad was awesome, but I had the problem cited in your video in that it was ahrd to know when it was on. Often it was like 6 AM, and I would try to record it - you know how that wsa back in the day! I did manage to see most of it I think though, and it was great!

  • @danieldunlap4077
    @danieldunlap4077 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I woke up early before school just to watch this show. It was definitely my favorite cartoon of the '90s. I always hated there was never a third season.

  • @JesusLopez-nj5pd
    @JesusLopez-nj5pd ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This was like a Mash Up of Mobile Suit Gundam and The Book Version of Starship Troopers

  • @billybarnett2846
    @billybarnett2846 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This came on Sunday mornings when it aired. It was like a cartoon soap opera that dealt with some heavy subject matter.

  • @shakeemrobinson2948
    @shakeemrobinson2948 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I've said it before and I'll say it again... Someone needs to bring exosquad back! Is Greg Wiseman looking for a new project?

  • @kerutlj
    @kerutlj 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Every time he said Fasa, did anyone else expect a lion king hyena to pop out and say, "Mufasa! Oooo, said it again"?

  • @Dorelaxen
    @Dorelaxen 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    God I wish someone else could hold the rights to Robotech besides Harmony Gold. They are the definition of a parasite.

  • @Kaimax61
    @Kaimax61 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    All that I can remember from ExoSquad is Alec's death scene.... lol

  • @sidearmsalpha
    @sidearmsalpha 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I was in my late teens when this came out and I was more into anime. Never watched the show but I did get some of the Robotech vehicles that were released under the Exo Squad line since I was big into Robotech and Macross.

  • @victorgorham9998
    @victorgorham9998 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I got Peacock for a movie and stayed to catch up on EXO Squad... I remember first season was hard to find when it originally aired and I don't even think the 2nd made it to my area... such a good show

  • @EnerJon90
    @EnerJon90 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Can you please cover earth worm jim it had video games action figures and tv show .. please please please 🙏

  • @johnnymonsters9717
    @johnnymonsters9717 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Oh my golden toilet.
    Thank you for this. This us my favorite series and thought it was to adult for my young eyes but I loved every second.

  • @MashKnight
    @MashKnight 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    there was a cartoon with a chix with a half shaved head, a gorilla and a guy in a red suit the says cool and spells it Kool while saying it. it's killing me!!!

  • @Kanas83
    @Kanas83 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    At least Catalyst/Tops got alll the old Battletech stuff with the Plastics we got most of the old unseen Robotech Stuff with new sculpts

  • @mrron9
    @mrron9 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "Harmony Gold's business model was more about suing and collecting the settlements for perceived copyright infringements than creating new content..." SPOT ON!! ✊🏽✊🏽

  • @MasterShake9000
    @MasterShake9000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    “Are we the baddies?” is the new “Is it canon?” Plz make this an ongoing gag.

  • @MrDEMarq
    @MrDEMarq 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This was a prime example of how greedy corporate a-holes can ruin a franchise 😑 😒

  • @tskmaster3837
    @tskmaster3837 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Exosquad, the American anime that was on the air long before anime really hit it big in the US.
    A great show but it took me years to figure out the convoluted backstoryline, AKA season 1.

  • @gundambassexe31
    @gundambassexe31 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Never heard of exosquad but I love robotech

  • @elmo1234
    @elmo1234 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    New channel logo!
    Surely Boba Fett would've been a better choice.

  • @SpacedCobraIII
    @SpacedCobraIII 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Loved the show as a kid. Didn't really hold up on rewtach (Not exactly made for someone my age though) but I still respect it for what it was.

  • @remyguzman58
    @remyguzman58 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    One of the greatest mech stories that isn't an anime. I tried running season 3 as a sci-fi dnd game using battletech rules or tiny frontiers.

  • @metaphyzxx
    @metaphyzxx 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    It makes me glad to know there are people that like this series as much as I do.

  • @larrydube1302
    @larrydube1302 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hell yeah! Exo Squad was awesome! Really hopes it gets a Voltron-esc remake one day.

  • @chrisdaugherty8265
    @chrisdaugherty8265 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I really wish Exosquad would make a comeback. Thanks Dan, you did your research as usual and made a great video. Keep up the good work.

  • @RLTango
    @RLTango 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Exo Squad rocked! I loved the very varied mech suite designs. Reusing the Robotech desings was fine by me back in the day.

  • @alyssinwilliams4570
    @alyssinwilliams4570 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Battletech has one of the most interesting and in-depth sci-fi settings around; I find it more intriguing and engaging than star trek and star wars most of the time.

    • @alyssinwilliams4570
      @alyssinwilliams4570 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Also, in case I havent said it recently, fuck harmony gold.

  • @MrBoyYankee
    @MrBoyYankee 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    J.T. Marsh & Dragconus were my favorite.

  • @ChonkySlotDonkey
    @ChonkySlotDonkey 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Such a great show and toys!!! Got my JTmarsh mech on eBay when i got a TMNT lot the other day!! 🙏🍻

  • @darktoylord
    @darktoylord 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'm going to have to stream this series. I'm still kinda confused as to who I should be rooting for 😆

  • @mamunestor
    @mamunestor 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I still don’t understand why they haven’t released season 2 on official media…. Another classic 90’s cartoon. I wish they had a season 3.

  • @Kepley100
    @Kepley100 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This cartoon is one of my favorites from the 1990's! I still have a nice collection of EXOSQUAD action figures and E-Frames that I bought from K-B Toys in Dover Mall back in the late 1990's!

  • @Aikurisu
    @Aikurisu 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Always loved Exosquad. Back in an age where great storytelling strangely coexisted with multi-coloured merchandising, which made a universe's military look demented yet cool.

  • @berandom2000
    @berandom2000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    7:39-Later in another toy company toyline, a Lego theme of the same name will have the Exo-Force namesake.

  • @Tony-rz4ks
    @Tony-rz4ks 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    i grew up watching Robotech and been waiting for the movie!!!!

  • @Actalzy
    @Actalzy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Harmony Gold is a parasite that hurt others and ruined Robotech on top of it all.