I'm writing this to explain to you all what robotech is all about.  I admit to being a little obsessive about it, Robotech has grown on me over the years.  It's addicting in a way.
In order to understand Robotech I'll first explain it's origins.

SECTION I:  THE JAPANESE MACROSS STUFF

Japan 1982, an animated series called Macross makes it's debut.  At first, Macross was t be a comedy, a parody of the popular show GUNDAM.  However, after the first few episodes, Macross took a twist nobody expected and became a serious science fiction.

Macross chronicled the war of the SDF-1 and it's courageous crew against a race of genetically engineered giant clones called Zentraedi.  The SDF-1 was an alien ship that crashed on earth in 1999 and was examined and repaired.  Ten years later, on the day it was to be put into orbit for planetary defense, the Zentraedi made their first attack to capture the ship.  The SDF-1 performed a space fold planning to go to the moon, but ending up at Pluto and the fold system had disappeared!  Eventually the SDF-1 returned to earth and miraculously defeated a fleet of over 4.8 million warships, most over a mile long!  The emotionally retarded Zentraedi armada were defeated by a love song.  It didn't end there...

THE TRUE MACROSS TIME LINE.         THE NON-OFFICIAL MACROSS TIME LINE.
Macross T.V. show -1982                                                      Super Space Fortress Macross, Do You Remember Love? (Movie) -1984
Flashback2012 -1987                                                             Flashback2012 -1987
Macross Plus -1994                                                               Macross2036 (PC Engine video game) -1992
Macross7 -1996                                                                     Macross II Lovers Again -1992
Macross Dynamite7 -1997
 

Macross is one of the most popular Japanese shows on earth and has had many spin-offs, movies and sequels.  One of those spin-offs was the american Robotech.

SECTION II:  COMING TO NORTH AMERICA

Carl Macek was a producer at a company named Harmony Gold.  Carl had seen the Japanese Macross T.V. show and felt it would be perfect for North American audiences, but it was only 36 episodes and that wasn't enough for syndication, it needed at lest 65.  Mr. Macek found a way to get it though, he got the rights to two other japanese shows, Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada. After a lot of hard work, he was able to work the three shows together into one, epic saga.  The new show, created from three separate shows, was named Robotech and aired on North American T.V. in 1985.
 

The Macross portion was basically unchanged, except for Protoculture.

SECTION III:  IT MUST BE PROTOCULTURE!  OR IS IT?

In the Japanese Macross shows, Protoculture was an ancient race that created the Zentraedi, the Protocultures were the first people in the galaxy.  The Zentraedi where taught that it was dangerous and could infect the Zentraedi directive, thus, the Zentraedi were fearful of it, not completely knowing what it is.

In Robotech Protoculture is something completely different.  Protoculture was a bio-energy source that came from an alien plant life, commonly called the Invid Flower of Life.  It is a clean energy producing absolutely no waste, and a single seed properly manipulated can produce enough power for a whole city for years.  That's what the Robotech Wars were all about, Protoculture.

SECTION IV:  SUPER DIMENTIONAL CAVALRY SOUTHERN CROSS & GENESIS CLIMBER MOSPEADA

The new portions added to Macross were Southern Cross and New Generation.  Southern Cross takes place 15 years after Macross, when the creators of the Zentraedi, the Masters arrive at Earth to find the Protoculture Matrix that is still hidden in the wreckage of the SDF-1.  At the end of this series the Matrix is destroyed and billions of seeds of the Invid Flower of Life fly out and cover the earth.  The seeds take root and quickly grow into the mysterious flower.

In the New Generation, only a few years after Southern Cross, the Invid have completely taken over the earth to harvest their precious Flower of Life, the source of Protoculture energy.  Freedom fighters struggle to get to the Invid home hive, the Reflex Point, where the SDF-3 plans to make a massive planetary assault.  In that last battle called The Battle of Reflex Point, the Invid All-Mother evolves her species into pure energy and they leave earth forever.

SECTION V:  THE ROBOTECH THAT WASN'T FINISHED & THE ONE THAT WAS NEVER MADE

The unfinished portion was Robotech II: The Sentinels.  This story begins 8 years after the original Macross portion, (7 years before Southern Cross begins).  The SDF-3 leaves earth to try to negotiate with the creators of the Zentraedi, the Masters.  Little do the Earthers know that the Masters have already left for Earth to find the Protoculture Matrix!  When the SDF-3 arrives at Tirol they find not the Masters but the Invid!  This portion of Robotech was never finished, only three episodes were made and were never aired, but they are available on video tape.

Carl Macek also planned for there to ba a third installment that would finish the series and neatly tie everything together.  Robotech III: The Odyssey was to be about what happened to the SDF-3 when it did not de-fold to Earth at the Battle of Reflex Point. R III was to also explain the origins of the Zentraedi, Masters, Invid, Sentinels, and Protoculture, SDF-1 and Zor.  It is known, by Mr. Macek's own words that the SDF-3 travels back thousands of years in time to the era of Zor, the founder of Protoculture.  It is my own speculation that the SDF-3 ended up becoming the SDF-1, but that is only speculation.

SECTION VI:  THE FUTURE OF ROBOTECH

There have been a number of recent going-ons with Robotech.  It was not long ago that Gamtek was working on a Robotech video game for the Nintendo64.  Due to a lack of funds, Gamtek went out of business and the game is now dead.

There is also a lot of talk of a new series, ROBOTECH 3000.  From what the rumors say, this show will be made by Harmony Gold and Netter Digital, and will be all CGI animation.  It should be on television sometimes in 1999, but who knows for sure,  It may end up dead like R II, R III adn the Nintendo game.

THE ROBOTECH TIME LINE.
Robotech T.V. show -1985
  episodes 1-36 The Macross Saga (circa 2009)
  episodes 37-60 Saga of the Southern Cross (circa 2029)
  episodes 61-85 Invid Invasion. (circa 2034)
Robotech II: The Sentinels T.V. show (only three episodes made and never aired) -1985 (circa 2022-2040)
Robotech III: The Odyssey (never made, but was planned)
Robotech 3000 (Rumored to be in production by Harmony Gold and Netter Digital)