Author: Ryan Harvey

I'm an award-winning science-fiction and fantasy author (daylighting as a marketing writer) living in Southern California.

Ultraman Ep. 22: Overthrow the Surface

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate Dec. 11, 1966.

Akio Jissoji’s third Ultraman episode is when his characteristic style comes together … and then goes on a rampage. Heavily influenced by his viewing of Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville (1965), Jissoji cuts loose with his visuals: jittery handheld camera shots, rapid cutting, close-ups on faces and mouths, lights dimmed to almost nothing, bizarre angles, reflective surfaces, sepia photography, freeze frames. It would feel indulgent — and several of his later Ultra outings are definitely that — if it didn’t work so well for the tone of paranoia and panic he brings to this twist on the alien invasion story. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 19: Project Blue

~ Ryan Harvey

Written and Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Airdate Feb. 11, 1968.

Professor Miyabe (Akiji Nomura) has invented a magnetic defense barrier, Project Blue, that will shield both Earth and the Moon from the barrage of alien invasions happening on a weekly basis. (At this point, the Ultra Guard is so familiar with these invasions that they know the preferred routes aliens take when launching attacks.) But Alien Bado, self-proclaimed “Emperor of the Universe,” is not going to have some Terrestrial Defense Barrier hinder their plot to explode Earth and eradicate the potentially deadly human race. The aliens covertly park their spaceship under Professor Miyabe’s home and kidnap him, threatening to murder his wife Grace (Linda Mabrey) if he doesn’t surrender the plans for Project Blue.

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Ultra Q Ep. 24: The Statue of Goga

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate June 12, 1966.

The James Bond craze has hit Japan. Time for an Ultra episode to go full espionage. The accouterments of a ‘60s spy film are all over this half hour: A wealthy villain with a hidden underground base filled with stolen artwork. Secret agents with numbered codenames who wear shades indoors. Lethal henchmen in slick suits. A swanky female spy loaded with gizmos. Wrist communication devices. Exploding cars. And, of course, a giant snail with a drill attachment. Well, this is Ultra Q, after all. 

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 13: Human Collection

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Minoru Kawasaki and Hirochika Muraishi. Airdate Nov. 30, 1996.

Young Shinichi is walking home alone one night — not an activity I recommend for third graders — when he sees a strange “crow man” using a ray gun to shrink and capture a pedestrian on the street. Thankfully, Shinichi is Shinjoh’s cousin, so he can call GUTS headquarters directly to inform them of the new threat. Because of a recent spate of vanishings in the area, Shinjoh and Daigo go to check out the kid’s story. They encounter the mystery crow-headed man, who uses his shrinking ray to nab Shinichi and then escape.

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Ultraman Ep. 21: Breach the Wall of Smoke

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yuzo Higuchi. Written by Taro Kaido. Airdate Dec. 4, 1966.

This is the Isamu Hoshino episode, the big starring role for the show’s 12-year-old mascot turned actual SSSP member. Hoshino already had a “save the day” moment in “Brother From Another Planet,” but this goes to the next level where he becomes the main character. Hoshino lands in the thick of the action, takes control of piloting the Sub VTOL, and figures out how to defeat the kaiju of the week. Your opinion of Hoshino and little kid heroics will strongly affect how you react to this episode. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 18: Escape Dimension X

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Testuo Kinjo. Airdate Feb. 4, 1968.

“Escape Dimension X” is Ultraseven’s version of Ultraman’s influential episode “The Monster Anarchy Zone”: a fast-paced monster-packed adventure taking place in a weird wilderness of exotic dangers. Many Ultra shows have their own take on this pulpy Lost World concept. Now we see the darker SF sensibility of Ultraseven at work on the premise. Where “The Monster Anarchy Zone” is a wild, fun rollercoaster with plenty of giant monsters, “Escape Dimension X” is horror-tinged and eerie, with monsters of the more creepy-crawly variety. This “lost world” is also presented as a science-fiction mystery, an artificially created alternate dimension, although the story leaves most of it unexplained.

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Ultra Q Ep. 23: Fury of the South Sea

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate June 5, 1966.

In the world of Japanese special-effects films, the mid-‘60s was the time to go on Pacific island vacations. This was when the Godzilla series left the cities to jet off for two budget-friendly South Seas adventures, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) and Son of Godzilla (1967). Around this time, Ultra Q took its own trip to the islands, although on an even tighter TV budget. The crew could only afford a recycled octopus prop and stock footage lifted from King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) to create its giant monster of the week.

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Toku Theater: Gamera vs. Viras (1968)

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Noriaki Yuasa. Written by Niisan Takahashi.

The fourth Gamera film adds the finishing touches, the final trio of elements that director Noriaki Yuasa and producer Hidemasa Nagata needed to complete the Gamera style: a Caucasian second child actor, Gamera’s catchy kiddie chant theme, and stock footage. The last of these isn’t a benefit.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 12: S.O.S. From the Bottom of the Sea

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Shinichi Kamizawa. Written by Nobuhisa Kodama. Airdate Nov. 23, 1996.

“Not all enemies come from distant space,” TPC head Sawai tells the GUTS team members as they face their newest adversary, mutated sea beast Leilons. Human tampering with the environment, such as the underwater nuclear testing that created Leilons, is a significant threat to life on Earth. A good message, one heard in many Ultra shows. But by the time Sawai gives his speech (and rests his hand on Rena’s shoulder for an uncomfortably long time), the episode has already given essentially the same speech multiple times.

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Ultraman Ep. 20: Terror on Route 87

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yuzo Higuchi. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Nov. 27, 1966.

Screenwriter Tetsuo Kinjo had a knack for taking topical subjects and finding ways to transform them into workable Ultra scripts. “Monster-as-metaphor” is one of the most viable and enduring forms of social commentary in science fiction and horror, and Kinjo was adept at not making the commentary in his monster scripts too heavy-handed, even with a subject as grim as the alarming number of deaths of children in auto accidents. And yes, that’s the subject of “Terror on Route 87.” 

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