Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Kunio Torami. Airdate March 13, 1966.
Another giant monster episode, but with a difference. Rather than a traditional rampaging kaiju tale, “Balloonga” takes an approach that borders on cosmic horror. It’s a dark turn for the show, with a fatalistic mood and gloomy aura. It’s highly effective for most of the running time, but the finale doesn’t match what the rest of the story promises.
Ultra Q has already shown the influence of the British Quatermass films, but this is the most Quatermass-heavy episode yet: a returning Earth spaceship brings back a hitchhiking extraterrestrial terror. The show used a similar premise with “The Gift From Space”, but with a more recognizable type of giant monster. The titular Balloonga is an amorphous floating blob, similar to the incomprehensible alien horrors from The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2.
Balloonga arrives on Earth when a craft returning from an expedition to Saturn loses power and crashes into the ocean. The creature begins to absorb energy and starts to grow out of control. As Tokyo panics, Yuriko tries to track down the missing Dr. Naramaru (Hirayoshi Aono), a scientist who encountered and destroyed one of these “Balloongas” two decades ago. There’s hope Naramaru may know how to destroy the alien lifeform before it drains energy from all of Earth.
Eiji Tsuburaya had experimented with this type of abstract monster design in the 1964 Ishiro Honda film Dogora, where a space jellyfish interferes with the plans of diamond thieves. “Balloonga” doesn’t go in for humor the way Dogora does, although there are some early laughs at the absurdity of the situation, such as when the creature starts to inflate inside Jun’s car and causes it to float.
After that, a gloomy pall falls over everything as it becomes clear Balloonga is not just a danger to Tokyo but possibly the entire planet — a literal Galactus-sized threat. The lifeform continues to grow as it sucks up power, eventually reaching a massive 100,000 meters (338,000 feet) in width. That easily wins the prize for the show’s biggest monster and leads to imposing visuals from the VFX department.
The episode takes a realistic approach to dealing with a giant monster, with government officials attempting to find a way to cut off power to Tokyo to starve Balloonga without triggering a humanitarian crisis. This affects the main cast, since Ippei is in a hospital after an early encounter with Balloonga and can’t evacuate when the power shuts off. The tight focus on the hospital emergency in the second half is effective at emphasizing the threat Balloonga poses without needing to make too many sacrifices to the limited budget.
Yuriko shines among the regular cast. She gets to do serious journalism when she goes hunting for Dr. Naramaru. She also shows her dedication to Ippei and concern for him, even after engaging in light teasing in the opening. On the other hand, Jun is kind of a dick to Yuri-chan when he tells her that if she gives Ippei “some sweet words” in the hospital, he might pass away. But Jun joins Yuriko in watching over Ippei’s hospital bed when everything is on the line because of the power loss.
Kunio Miyauchi’s score is one of his most impressive for Ultra Q: grim and monotonous, dominated by a threatening hammering on a piano. The music adds to the mood of apocalyptic doom as it plays under images of a grotesque, pulsating glob casting its shadow over Tokyo. These are the most powerful and frightening moments in the episode; the cosmic horror becomes palpable.
With all that works about “Balloonga,” it’s unfortunate that it deflates at the end. The conclusion is similar to the unresolved ending of “The Gift From Space,” but not as eerie or unexpected. The resolution to the crisis occurs off-screen without any build-up, leaving us on an empty roof with Dr. Naramaru pondering the meaning of it all. Dr. Naramaru sees Balloonga not as a monster but the wrath of a god against civilization — although he’s ambiguous about what civilization did specifically to anger this god, which weakens the message.
We haven’t seen Balloonga again in the main Ultra continuity. That’s strange for an entity that poses such a threat to the universe and which is still out there, somewhere, eating stars…
Rating: Good
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