Neo Ultra Q

I was a big fan of Ultraman when I was a kid. In the early ‘90s I discovered there was a new “Ultraman” show, but unfortunately I was more interested in acquiring episodes of the old show on VHS than I was episodes of the new one. Somewhat later I discovered that there have been many, many “Ultraman” series over the years, rivaling Doctor Who in its longevity. A brief search of the internet yields the following results (but I’ve probably missed a few).

Ultra Q
Ultraman 1966-67
UltraSeven 1967-68
Return of…(Jack) 1971-72
Ultraman Ace 1972-73
Ultraman Taro 1973-74
Ultraman Leo 1974-75
Ultraman 80 1980-81
Ultraman USA (The Adventure Begins) 1987
Ultraman Great (Towards the Future) 1990-91
Ultraman Powered (The Ultimate Hero) 1993
Ultraman Hero 1995
Ultraman Zearth (parody) 1996-97
Ultraman Tiga 1996-97
Ultraman Dyna 1997-98
Ultraman Gaia 1998-99
Ultraman Nice 1999-00
Ultraman Neos 2000-2001
Ultraman Cosmos 2001-02
Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy 2004
Ultraman: Next 2004 - p.82
Ultraman Nexus 2004-05 - p.82
Ultraman Max 2005-06 - p.86
Ultraman Mebius 2006-07 - p.91
Ultraman UltraSeven X 2007 - p.99
UltraGalaxy: Mega Monster Battle 2007-2009 - p.100
Ultraman Retsuden 2011-13
Neo Ultra Q 2013
Ultraman Ginga 2013
Ultraman Ginga S 2014
Ultraman X 2015-16
Ultraman Orb 2016
Ultraman Geed 2017
Ultraman R/B 2018
Ultraman Taiga 2019
Ultraman Z 2020
Ultraman Trigger 2021

We’ve been discussing other tokusatsu series in this forum lately, and because those series were produced later than Ultraman, I expected them to be technically better, but I ended up being somewhat disappointed in Super Robot Red Baron and Iron King. I enjoyed them, but I didn’t like them as much as I hoped to. Now I’ve started watching Ultraseven, and it’s everything I hoped it would be.

As the liner noteson the DVD set point out, “the difference in the overall quality in production between Ultraman and Ultraseven was marked, and made the show memorable 45 years later. According to Wikipedia, “Such is his popularity that Ultra Seven (or simply 'Seven') has appeared or at least made cameos in nearly every Ultra Series following his own and has had far more exposure than even the original Ultraman (though the original Ultraman is without a doubt the face of the Ultras).”

My wife and I disagree about the relative merits of Ultraseven in comparison to SRRB/IK. I would like to start the discussion with a look at the opening title sequence and music, then open the floor for rebutal.

The title sequence of Ultraman, as you will recall, looks as if it had been spelled out in a can of paint, slowly stirred, then run backwards. Ultraseven looks more like it had been spelled out in brightly colored confetti, placed atop one of those old electric football games, shaken apart, then run backwards. Whereas the soundtrack of Ultraman is jazzy, that of Ultraseven shows more of a classical influence.

Here is the English translation of the lyrics…

Seven… Seven… Seven… Seven…

Seven! Seven! Seven!
Seven! Seven! Seven!

A distant star was once his home
Ultra Seven! Fighter Seven!
Ultra Seven! Seven! Seven!

Onward to the edge of the galaxy
Use your Ultra-Eye and… STRIKE!
Seven! Seven! Seven!
Seven! Seven! Seven!

Dan Moroboshi is his borrowed name
Ultra Seven! Hero Seven!
Ultra Seven! Seven! Seven!

Defeat the great fire-breathing monster
Use yout Ultra-Beam and STRIKE!

We’re also watching That ‘70s Show, which features Tim Reid in later seasons. I liked his mid-‘80s half hour “dramady” set in New Orleans in which he was an undertaker. I have the whole series (it lasted only one season) on VHS, but I’ve never watched it a second time.

In the Ultraseven episode we watched last night, alien space poppy seeds placed in cigarettes drove smokers temporarily insane. An alien race was performing a test prior to launching an all-out invasion. Their theory was that humans generally follow the rules of society based on mutual trust. Their plan was to undermine society by using the drugged cigarettes to destroy people’s trust. Voiceover narration at the end of the episode assured viewers not to worry; an attack such as this could only happen in the far distant future, because as of today, there’s not enough mutual trust in the world to undermine. What did you think of the serious underlying theme, honey?

Moving on to the Ultra Guard’s equipment…

POINTER: A blocky, silver armored car, a modified 1957 Chrysler Imperial. It can generate a force field (called the “shield”), and probably other stuff I haven’t seen yet as well. I don’t know why they call it the “Pointer”. That makes about as much sense as referring to Ultraseven’s boomerang blade as an Eye Slugger. (Actually, the term “Eye Slugger” has yet to be used in an actual episode; I got that from the liner notes.)

ULTRA HAWK ONE: A jet that can break apart into three-components and recombine in flight.

ULTRA HAWK THREE: Like the FF’s Pogo Plane.

ULTRA HAWK TWO: Haven’t seen it yet. Maybe the three components are referred to separately as One, Two and Three…? I know I’ve heard two of the three components as “Alpha” and “Beta.” Maybe Tracy can shed some light.

ULTRA BALA: Our Japanese cat has been rechristened “Bala Seven” for the duration.

Replies

- Dedu Maria > The Baron April 2, 2024 at 8:24am
  
  awesome, thanks
The Baron July 25, 2013 at 12:23pm

Tracy of Moon-T said:

Jeff and I differ on what we expect from these shows.

Oh, you just miss those two heart-throbs, Gentaro Shizuka and Goro Kirishima!
Tracy of Moon-T July 25, 2013 at 12:34pm

The Baron said:

Tracy of Moon-T said:

Jeff and I differ on what we expect from these shows.

Oh, you just miss those two heart-throbs, Gentaro Shizuka and Goro Kirishima!

I do! I saw a runner today with a green canteen on his belt and shouted "Goro!"
The Baron July 25, 2013 at 12:52pm

Awesome.
Jeff of Earth-J July 25, 2013 at 1:55pm

Regarding our different expectations (and to rephrase what I was getting at yesterday), two grown men in rubber suits is silly enough to begin with; the approach to the subject matter needs to be serious enough to offset that.

Regarding yesterday’s monster, it drank gasoline. In its smaller form, it sucked it right out of the pump like a frat boy with a keg.

Regarding “Pokemon trainer” concept, I’ll have to take your word for it, but it does provide for a variety of match-ups. Whereas Ultraman was basically giant alien vs. alien monster, Johnny Sokko Giant Robot vs. alien monster, and SRRB giant robot on giant robot action, the mix ‘n’ match nature of Ultraseven means pretty much anything goes. Plus I have already pointed out that none of the monsters from previous series were reused. SRRB and IK both featured imaginative designs, but the suits themselves were substandard, I though, in comparison to Ultraman or Ultraseve. YMMV.
Henry R. Kujawa July 25, 2013 at 8:33pm

Jeff of Earth-J:

"Are you referring to the same Tim Reid who played Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati?"

I hope there isn't more than one! I knew he got into film production (he did a couple of TV series with his wife). I imagine he somehow got involved with bringing ULTRA 7 to the US. Apart from turning it into a joke, it's just odd that it was so OLD already when he did this. I found out years later the show was made RIGHT after ULTRA MAN, in the late 60's, but this U.S. translation was concocted in the 80's.
Jeff of Earth-J July 26, 2013 at 9:39am

We’re also watching That ‘70s Show, which features Tim Reid in later seasons. I liked his mid-‘80s half hour “dramady” set in New Orleans in which he was an undertaker. I have the whole series (it lasted only one season) on VHS, but I’ve never watched it a second time.

In the Ultraseven episode we watched last night, alien space poppy seeds placed in cigarettes drove smokers temporarily insane. An alien race was performing a test prior to launching an all-out invasion. Their theory was that humans generally follow the rules of society based on mutual trust. Their plan was to undermine society by using the drugged cigarettes to destroy people’s trust. Voiceover narration at the end of the episode assured viewers not to worry; an attack such as this could only happen in the far distant future, because as of today, there’s not enough mutual trust in the world to undermine. What did you think of the serious underlying theme, honey?

Moving on to the Ultra Guard’s equipment…

POINTER: A blocky, silver armored car, a modified 1957 Chrysler Imperial. It can generate a force field (called the “shield”), and probably other stuff I haven’t seen yet as well. I don’t know why they call it the “Pointer”. That makes about as much sense as referring to Ultraseven’s boomerang blade as an Eye Slugger. (Actually, the term “Eye Slugger” has yet to be used in an actual episode; I got that from the liner notes.)

ULTRA HAWK ONE: A jet that can break apart into three-components and recombine in flight.

ULTRA HAWK THREE: Like the FF’s Pogo Plane.

ULTRA HAWK TWO: Haven’t seen it yet. Maybe the three components are referred to separately as One, Two and Three…? I know I’ve heard two of the three components as “Alpha” and “Beta.” Maybe Tracy can shed some light.

ULTRA BALA: Our Japanese cat has been rechristened “Bala Seven” for the duration.
The Baron July 26, 2013 at 9:47am

I wished Iived near you people. I'd come over so often you'd get sick of me. Oh. Maybe that would be a bad thing.
The Baron July 26, 2013 at 9:56am

Henry R. Kujawa said:

Jeff of Earth-J:

"Are you referring to the same Tim Reid who played Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati?"

I hope there isn't more than one! I knew he got into film production (he did a couple of TV series with his wife). I imagine he somehow got involved with bringing ULTRA 7 to the US. Apart from turning it into a joke, it's just odd that it was so OLD already when he did this. I found out years later the show was made RIGHT after ULTRA MAN, in the late 60's, but this U.S. translation was concocted in the 80's.

The IMDB lists over a dozen guys called "Tim Reid", so it's not necessarily the same one.
Tracy of Moon-T July 26, 2013 at 10:33am

The Baron said:
I wished Iived near you people. I'd come over so often you'd get sick of me. Oh. Maybe that would be a bad thing.

Bob, you will always be welcome in our home. :)

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