Now that I’ve completed reviewing all 28 episodes of Ultra Q, it’s time to collect all my posts for your easy perusing pleasure. Enjoy.
Continue reading “Ultra Q: The Complete Episode Review Guide”Ultra Q: The Complete Episode Review Guide
Tag: Ultra Q
My Favorite Ultra Q Episodes
We’ve reached a major milestone at The Ultra Project: the first Ultra show reviewed from start to finish! Now that I’ve examined all 28 episodes of the original Ultra Q, the 1966 show that started it all, it’s time for a recap. The next post will be a full listing of all the reviews for easy reference, but for now I present to you a short recap of my personal favorite episodes.
Continue reading “My Favorite Ultra Q Episodes”Ultra Q Ep. 28: Open Up!
Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Mieko Osanai. Airdate Dec 14, 1967.
Ultra Q closes its original run with an ethereal episode, absent of monsters and high on postmodern angst. It’s hard to imagine an Ultra episode farther removed from the colorful heroics of Ultraman, so it isn’t surprising that TBS producer Takashi Kakoi decided that “Open Up!” was not a good lead-in for the new show. He removed the episode from the schedule and replaced it with the Ultraman preview special. “Open Up!” wouldn’t reach airwaves until the end of 1967, when Ultraman had finished its run and Ultraseven was already airing.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 28: Open Up!”Ultra Q Ep. 27: The Disappearance of Flight 206
Directed by Koji Kajita. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Hiroyasu Yamaura. Airdate July 3, 1966.
Jun and Ippei are returning from pilot training in Hong Kong aboard the maiden flight of a supersonic jet. The last time Ultra Q took a ride on the inaugural run of a super-speed vehicle, it was in “The Underground Super Express Goes West.” It was not a smooth trip. This second trip on emerging high-speed technology also goes wrong fast. Flight 206 gets dragged into a mysterious whirlpool in the sky and vanishes, leaving poor Yuriko and Professor Ichinotani at the airport baffled by yet another uncanny occurrence in the Unbalanced Zone.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 27: The Disappearance of Flight 206”Ultra Q Ep. 26: Blazing Glory
Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Toshihiro Iijima. Airdate June 26, 1966.
Director Kazuho Mitsuta’s second aired episode (although produced before “Space Directive M774”) is his first classic. Mitsuta had a knack for intense character-driven stories told with cinematic flair. His episodes look fantastic without being ostentatious. “Blazing Glory” shows Mitsuta operating at a high level and making the best possible episode from one of Ultra Q’s most dramatic, human tales.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 26: Blazing Glory”Ultra Q Ep. 25: The Devil Child
Directed by Koji Kajita. Written by Kyoko Kitazawa and Ken Kumagai. Airdate June 19, 1966.
The massive success of Ring (1998) ignited the J-Horror boom of the late 1990s and 2000s, but the unique style of Japanese horror has a long history. Several key supernatural horror films came out in the 1960s: Onibaba (1964), Kwaidan (1965), and Kuroneko (1968). “The Devil Child” is Ultra Q’s contribution to Japanese ghost lore of this era. It combines the concept of the dangerous ghost child with science-fiction elements for that peculiar Ultra Q mix. It’s one of the show’s eeriest and subtlest achievements.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 25: The Devil Child”Ultra Q Ep. 24: The Statue of Goga
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.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 24: The Statue of Goga”Ultra Q Ep. 23: Fury of the South Sea
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.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 23: Fury of the South Sea”Ultra Q Ep. 22: Metamorphosis
Directed by Koji Kajita. Written by Kyoko Kitazawa. Story by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate May 29, 1966.
As we enter the last quarter mile of Ultra Q‘s run, we stumble across one of the first produced episodes. “Metamorphosis” was only the second episode shot, following “Mammoth Flower.” Even though it features a giant monster, a sure-thing for ratings, TBS decided to wait this late into the show’s run to put it on the air.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 22: Metamorphosis”Ultra Q Ep. 21: Space Directive M774
Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate May 22, 1966.
This is Shozo Uehara’s debut as a writer for the Ultra franchise. His work is sparse for Ultra Q and Ultraman, although he penned the stone-cold classic Ultraman episode “The Monster Anarchy Zone.” It was later on Ultraseven and then as head writer on Return of Ultraman that he’d emerge as one of the most prolific and imaginative members of Tsuburaya Pro’s writing stable.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 21: Space Directive M774”
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