Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Bunzo Wakatsuki. Airdate Nov. 5, 1967.
For the first time, and certainly not the last, an episode of Ultraseven scrutinizes the ethics of the operations of the Terran Defense Force and the Ultra Guard. The featured alien race, Alien Pegassa, doesn’t want to conquer Earth. They only want survival, but that may require taking drastic steps against Earth. Earth faces a similar choice with Pegassa, creating an unwinnable situation for both sides that has echoes of the Cold War without making explicit reference to it. Neither the Earthings nor Alien Pegassa ultimately show their best sides in this showdown.
This is the kind of story that makes Ultraseven stand out among the franchise: cerebral science-fiction tragedy. “Dark Zone” isn’t the finest of these episodes — you need a writer like Tetsuo Kinjo and his personal experience with bigotry and racism to most effectively tackle a dark subject like this, as he does in the best of Ultraseven’s tragic tales, “Ambassador of the Nonmalt.” As a first attempt, “Dark Zone” is heavy-handed with its themes and structurally a bit clunky. It reaches its big set-piece early, leaving a smaller-scale finale that resolves too rapidly.
What the episode has in its favor is good dialogue, strong science-fiction concepts, and special effects that aren’t focused on a giant creature. (There’s no giant monster at all.) The story starts on a mystery created through an interesting visual effect: Anne enters her quarters to discover a living shadow entity hiding there. Anne brings Dan to talk to the alien shadow, who is elusive about his origins and his purpose, but seems afraid of humanity and claims to be injured.
The special effects for the shadowy version of Alien Pegassa are terrific. It would’ve been easier for the Tsuburaya Pro team to have the alien disguise itself as an Earthling, but the blobby black shadow is an ambitious and eerie effect. It’s especially impressive in shots where the shadow alien appears simultaneously sitting on a couch and reflected in a mirror. That’s the effects team going above and beyond to make an effect more realistic.
While Dan and Anne are trying to figure out the motives of the shadowy visitor, an alien species, Alien Pegassa, beams an emergency message to the TDF. The message warns that the alien’s traveling space city is on an accidental course to collide with Earth. They request that Earth please alter its orbit briefly, a feat the Pegassas believe any advanced planetary civilization can do. Don’t you change your planet’s orbit regularly? It’s like rotating your tires!
The highlight is when Ultra Hawk 1 flies to intercept Alien Pegassa’s space metropolis, ostensibly to help its inhabitants evacuate so the TDF won’t have to order the city destroyed before a collision with Earth. The visual effects for the floating Pegassa city are beautifully designed, and the suspense ratchets up as Dan and the rest of the Ultra Guard face the prospect of having to take extreme measures against a race that may not have any ill intent.
Seven makes his briefest appearance yet, on screen for less than a minute and remaining at human size. During most of the final showdown with Alien Pegassa, Dan stays in human form, but this ends up working for the dialogue-driven story. Still, the ending wraps up too fast and facilely for the issues raised, and the major moment of tension has already passed.
The moral quandary of the “Dark Zone” has intrigued later filmmakers. There are several direct follow-ups, such as an episode of the direct-to-video Heisei Ultraseven series, “Dark Side.” A 2023 short film released to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the show, “The Future 55 Years Ago,” explores a “What If?” scenario where Alien Pegassa pulls Dan into a present-day Earth that has changed because of Ultraseven’s absence. It’s worth watching for the beautiful visual homages to the show, although it won’t make much sense unless you’ve seen the actual episode first.
Rating: Good
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