Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Masahiro Yamada. Airdate Sep. 11, 1966.
A good Ultra fight finale can do a lot to salvage an otherwise mediocre episode. Ultraman’s wrestling match with monster-of-the-week Gabora (orGavora as the Mill Creek subtitles spell it) is tough and agile. A good deal of the credit for its success goes to performers Bin Furyua in the Ultraman costume and the legend himself, Hauro Nakajima, in the Gabora costume. Nakajima was the first person to put on the Godzilla suit, and he played the monster for almost 20 years. I believe he’s the best suitmation actor to ever rampage across a miniature stage. He brings something extra to every monster he plays, and Gabora is no exception.
Otherwise, yes, a mediocre episode. It’s difficult to follow up the thrill-fest of “The Monster Anarchy Zone,” one of the great Ultraman episodes. “Lightning Operation” doesn’t even try that hard. It uses the basic formula without much special to it aside from the climactic fight. A kaiju appears, the Science Patrol tries to find a way to stop it, then Ultraman arrives and solves everything with a kaiju beatdown. Add a few character bits, like Fuji and Hoshino hanging out again (always one of the best pairings of the show) and Arashi desperately wanting to shoot something, and presto, you’ve filled your half hour. They can’t all be fantastic, and this is the least interesting episode so far.
Gabora is the fourth kaiju constructed from the Baragon costume built for Frankenstein vs. Baragon, and the third in seven episodes. I’m glad TsuPro finally had enough money after this to retire the costume and build new monsters, because the Baragon-spawns now feel tired. The petals around Gabora’s head are memorable, but the monster spends most of the episode looking like it’s got a cone stuck on its head as it slowly putters through forested hills, following the uranium lure the Science Patrol is dangling from a helicopter. Not the most engaging kaiju action. Two boy scouts in Hoshino’s troop get caught in the path of destruction, but the tension isn’t there because the pace just ambles along like Gabora. The “Lightning” part of the title never happens.
I feel sorry for Gabora at the end, although nobody in the episode does. The monster was simply going about its business, looking for uranium to eat so it could survive. The show would eventually confront the sometimes violent treatment of creatures guilty of nothing more than being inconveniently large and accidentally destructive. We’ve got a bit to go before “The Monster Graveyard” brings up the topic of Monster Rights.
Shin Ultraman would essentially do a CGI recreation of the fight between Ultraman and Gabora for the climax of its first half hour. It’s a more exciting take on the episode and the best part of that movie.
Bit of trivia: This episode was released the same week as the first episode of Star Trek. “Lightning Operation” aired on Sunday and “The Man Trap” aired on Thursday — although Japanese and US viewers were sadly unaware of the existence of each other’s show. Both are middling episodes of their shows.
Rating: Mediocre
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