Everything Action Theater: Battletech: The Animated Series

10 years after the universe of Battletech was first introduced to the tabletop, Saban developed an animated series that ran for 13 episodes in 1994.  Running in syndication, Battletech: The Animated Series followed Adam Steiner, an instructor at a military academy in the year 3050 in the Inner Sphere.  When his home planet of Somerset is invaded by the powerful Clan Jade Falcon, led by the ruthless Nicolai Malthus, Steiner assembles a strike force to return home and liberate the planet.  Most of the combat in the world of Battletech is fought between BattleMechs, large, usually bipedal, war machines loaded with powerful weaponry.  The animated series tried to set itself apart from other cartoons at the time by combining traditional animation with CG, switching to 3D computer graphics during the show’s battles between Mechs.  An official companion to the tabletop game related to the animated series in 1995, and the series also got a Malibu comic that ran for five issues.  Because of all the mergers and purchases over the years, Disney seems to be the company currently owning the series, but you probably won’t see it on Disney+ anytime soon.  You can watch the first episode, “The Gathering Storm,” below, thanks to Helm Memory Core on YouTube.