Please forgive me--the two cliched, geek suggestions

[Murmur the Fallen]

Oh, Kami-Sama, forgive me!
MACROSS
or
GUNDAM.
[Murmur sobs incoherently as he reaches new depths of anime geekiness for many, many minutes]
I'm not sure if you'd consider either series to be a "live franchise", even though Gundam is pumping out Gundam Seed and Macross has out the incredibly beautiful, fantastically animated Macross Zero (the anime that makes Wildstorm's Robotech look even worse in comparison). One series is an alt.uni, not set in the Universal Century, and the other is a prequel.
I suggest, for Macross, that you put it in in the Macross 7 era, an era that is done and finished and has the added bonus of having a pop group save the universe with the power of music.
As for Gundam . . . hell, set it whenever. Maybe he could hit Quess and Hathaway during Char's Counterattack. Cripes, they were annoying, especially Quess (little spoiled jailbait that she was--ooh, she deserved to die).
So, Macross 7--c'mon. I can see it now; Doug hitting Basara when he's too into his "Shut up, I'm being a surly artiste" mode and having a few beers with Ray and getting yelled at by the Mayor.

[vitruvian]

Nah - the three most cliched suggestions would have to be Middle-Earth, Star Wars, and Star Trek. The first, of course, is fair game given that the (literary) franchise is most definitely completed; the other two could be considered either alive or moribund depending on whether you separate out eras or consider all novelizations to be in the same universe...

[Bob Schroeck]

I don't know any Gundam at all -- I have succeeded in staying away from it -- but thanks to Josh I have managed to watch all of the original Macross. And Doug in there would probably have a breakdown from all the loss of life. Other Macrossi? Don't know them. Yet.


-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...

[classicdrogn]

M7 is just starting to be fansubbed, or atleast, digitally fansubbed, I dunno aout VHS. Go to a.scarywater.net and take the link to base0, then scan down the long list, and you'll find the first four eps. GaoGaiGar is also in there, as is Macross Zero.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[cpt kangarooski]

---

And Doug in there would probably have a breakdown from all the loss of life. Other Macrossi? Don't know them. Yet.

---

Well, my suggestions would be to watch Macross Plus, which takes place a good few decades after Macross (and is awfully cool), and Macross Zero, which takes place during the war briefly mentioned at the beginning of Macross (and which is visually at least one of the best anime I've ever seen, and so far is very well written).
Macross II is best avoided at all costs. Most people don't like to discuss it.
As for Macross 7, some people like it, others don't. Personally, I thought the concept of the 7 was fine, but otherwise I really didn't care for the series at all. Except that the toy sales helped fund Macross Plus.
Anyway -- this is hardly the first time a Macross step has been proposed. I don't think it would really work well.
My suggestion last time, and I'll stick with it, is to assume that there were survivors on Earth of the big Zentraedi attack, who escaped destruction due to being isolated and too primative to stand out. Little backwater villages in S or SE Asia I think, so that 1) there can be a language barrier precluding Doug from easily ascertaining what happened exactly; 2) if we slightly break the helmet on arrival, it'll be difficult to fix, forcing Doug to work in ways that to him are unconventional; 3) the local environment having had a few years to recover might be dense jungle that hid the survivors but makes getting out difficult and provides hiding places for Zentraedi survivors still fighting the war; 4) it's far enough away from the Macross or anything of importance that Doug will get rescued; 5) it keeps Doug from realizing what happened so as to avoid the horrible realization that aliens wiped out most of humanity.
Whether it's possible to draw on Mac Zero for this remains to be seen. There's definately useful elements, but it'll hinge on how the plot proceeds.
Anyway, I think it might be interesting to see a step that involved less full-blown superheroing, and which while somewhat of an SI fic does avoid placing the SI character anywhere close to the action in the world, much less a chance change things.

[classicdrogn]

---

Macross II is best avoided at all costs. Most people don't like to discuss it.

---

Eh, it's not all bad - not any worse a murder than Tokyo 2040. It has some pretty mecha and pretty girls, but the storyline is indeed hack work (Take Macross. Put it in a blender. Don't even file off the serial numbers. Kind of like SWEU - official fanfiction) and the 'movie edition' is so stripped of action scenes in favor of showcasing what plot there is that it ends up being pretty dry - sadly, there's really only enough plot for that much airtime, assuming it was a good enopugh plot to stand on its own. I have the VF-2SS transformable model kit that wqas released for it, but unlike the real (Studio Nue) Macross series' VFs, there's no possible way to have the hips stay connected and have it transform - the kit uses three interchangeable T-shaped parts to switch modes, popping the legs off the polycaps and on the new part. Of course, given that Doug is most useful outside a cockpit, the mecha don't matter all that much for these purposes, and M2 just doesn't have much to offer otherwise.

---

As for Macross 7, some people like it, others don't. Personally, I thought the concept of the 7 was fine, but otherwise I really didn't care for the series at all. Except that the toy sales helped fund Macross Plus.

---

I've only seen the four digisubbed eps I mentioned earlier and some online summaries, but given that the New Macross 7 is literally an entire city in space, I think it wouldn't be too hard to come up with something for Doug to do if he ended up there, between normal city opportunities for minor vigilantism, the various times enemy grunts/sub-bosses get on board and lurk around, and the possibility of exploring the relationship (if any) between Doug's metatalent and the spiritia potential of a particular song. I'm sure Dr. Chiba would be fascinated by someone able to use recorded music for the purpose, since from the summaries I've read of things that far into the series it's only supposed to work with live musicians actively working toward a desired effect.
The second ep of MZero features a skeleton that looks like it could belong to a couple of the higher level protodeviln from later in M7, too, and the 'holy powers' of the islanders' preistess bear remarkable similarity to anima spirita abilities as far as I can see, also.

---

Anyway, I think it might be interesting to see a step that involved less full-blown superheroing, and which while somewhat of an SI fic does avoid placing the SI character anywhere close to the action in the world, much less a chance change things

---

Change the major events of the series, you mean, right? No point doing it at all if he can't change ANYTHING.
- CD
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Bob Schroeck]

My only concern with sending Doug into a Macross universe is the obvious question almost anyone will have -- what happens when you mix Doug's metatalent and Linn Minmei?
Seriously, I'll look into the other series. Thanks for the information, everyone.


-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...

[Star Ranger4]

I guess that begs the question of if it's actually Macross, or Robotech...
Although it would also be something to see Linn Kyle's reaction to someone who was better at the 'art' than he was... and there are points in the story where that boy needs a good spanking!"I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bob Schroeck]

---

there are points in the story where that boy needs a good spanking!

---

Spanking? There are points in the story where that boy needs a good killing...


-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...

[Star Ranger4]

I was trying to be polite about it, but yeah."I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[WengFook]

Star ranger said "I was trying to be polite about it, but yeah."
well lynn kyle kinda made everyone I know, who has watched robotech, wanna strangle him... or worse.
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.

[Bob Schroeck]

Besides, I think it's pretty obvious that polite just don't work with that boy.


-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...

[offsides]

My personal favorite Valkyrie comes from Macross II, even if it is officially outside of continuity - the VF-1MS Metal Siren. Take a VF-1, beef it up on steroids, and mak it look a lot cooler in the process. (And nevermind the plasma weapon that blows ships up from the inside - that's just dumb
Macross II (the 3-hour series, never watched the 2-hour movie condensation) is enjoyable, you just have to understand that it's not "official" continuity, and thus doesn't have anything to do with other Macross series (except DYRL)...
(Edit)
I forgot that it has one of the best semi-random lines in all of anime: "The fate of the world is in our hands... Beats sittin' in jail!"
Offsides
Drunkard's Walk Forum Moderator and Prereader At Large

[Star Ranger4]

Oh boy... now this scene just poped into my head:
Doug is sitting in front of a court-martial aboard the SDF-1, headed by Col. Maistroff.
Maistroff: "You have pleaded guilty to the charge of Manslaughter, Sangoir. Is there anything you wish to add before the court passes sentance?"
Doug: "Yes, your honor. The man needed killing."
Maistroff: "Very well. You are found guilty of the charge. However, due to the circumstances, this court passes no sentance for your crime.""I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."
-- HM "Howling Mad" Wilson to more than one team-mate.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bob Schroeck]

I like it.


-- Bob
---------
And all the girlies say I'm pretty dry for a wet guy...

[WengFook]

thats a good one
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.