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From: mae@aplvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.tv
Subject: Re: sat morning tv
Message-ID: <465@aplvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Dec-83 16:51:11 EST
Article-I.D.: aplvax.465
Posted: Wed Dec 21 16:51:11 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Dec-83 11:25:44 EST
Organization: JHU/Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, MD
Lines: 58

Hello animation fans (especially fellow Gundam fan Keith Fung)

Interesting, isn't it, how Keith described American tv animation as
technically excellent but otherwise real garbage.  That is exactly
the problem.  I like tv shows with well developed characters and
interesting plots, which probably explains why I watch British
and Japanese shows and Hill Street Blues.  I haven't seen any of
his examples so things may be getting better, but what I have
seen of American tv animation hasn't been as good technically as
the best recent Japanese tv shows (Macross, Urashiman or Cobra for
example) and characterization and plots are nonexistent.  These
things should have nothing to do with whether a show is animated or live
action, but I guess American tv is consistent in that most of the live
action shows don't have much in the way of character development
or continuing consistent plots either.

One correction to Keith's article, Gatchaman started as a half hour show.
(I just saw 6 hours worth at a C/FO Mid-Atlantic meeting.)
It is true, however, that the American version used very
little of that per show.  And they only used 80 of the 105 episodes
of the first series.  I remember reading a funny news item in Starlog,
that Battle of the Planets "boasted" 80 independent episodes.
Since they started with 105 serially connected episodes that is a
strange thing to boast about.  I have heard a story (perhaps in jest)
that the same American company tried to buy Lupin III, but the show's
creator asked first what would be done with the show.  Well, they
couldn't have a thief as the main character so they would have to
make him a secret agent, but then the Inspector chasing him wouldn't
make sense so they'd have to rewrite that and American kiddies wouldn't
understand a Japanese character so they'd have to write that character
out and . . . (I'll be sick if I go any farther).  Wisely this
offer was rejected.

The fifth Force Five story is Spaceketeers == Starzinger, the only
one of the five that was originally a comedy.  Other regrettable
American versions are Starbirds (made from Daimos) and the translation
of the first Galaxy Express movie.  I've seen a not too bad version
of Voltus V, under the original title, with songs left in Japanese.
I've recently heard a rumor that the Playboy cable channel may be
interested in running Space Cobra.  There is nothing in the episodes
I've seen that couldn't be shown on a network if it were live action but
apparently the idea of an adult animated show implies to American
tv types that it must be obscene.  The pilot episode was made in
English.

Another annoying thing done to the American translations is the
character names.  I can understand changing Japanese names to
American ones, even if I don't agree with it, but why change the
names that are American to start with?  Technovoyager ("Thunderbirds
2086" in English) has the best examples.  The international rescue
team, originally from 5 different countries, became all Americans.
The one original American character, Katherine Hayward, was renamed
Kallan James, and the British Eric Jones became a Texan Jesse Riegal.
I am bothered by this, even treated as a "kiddie" show, what's wrong
with showing the "kids" international cooperation?

			Mary Anne Espenshade
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