Ultra Q and Ultraman

I won’t pretend that I know that much about the Japanese series Ultra Q and Ultraman.  I’ve watched several episodes of each and while by today’s standards the series seems a little corny and overacted, I recognize the heart and soul that went into creating them.

It was a bold move on the part of the Japanese movie/TV industry. 

You must remember that the original Ultra Q series was produced just barely over 20 years after the Japanese were defeated in World War II.  The memory of the atomic bomb blasts at Nagasaki and Hiroshima was still fresh in the minds of the Japanese.

They Japanese needed heroes: champions who could solve their problems and protect them.  Such heroes were Ultra Q Series 1 who, later on, led to the creation of Ultraman.

Filmed in black and white the 28-episode series followed the exploits of a group of investigators who tracked down mysterious events happening in and around Japan.

Think of it as an early Kolchak: Night Stalker or The X-Files prototype.

The entire series is lovingly presented in a brand-new, classic series DVD collection from Mill Creek Entertainment.

Ultraman Series 2 was the full-color late 1960s TV series that followed in the footprints of Ultra Q.

In the series a giant alien pursued an escaped space monster. 

Accidentally the alien crashed into a Jet VTOL and nearly kills the pilot.

In order to save the life of the pilot the alien merges with him and swears to protect earth from alien invaders and other dastardly types. 

Thus was born Ultraman.

At the time the series was one of the most expensive TV productions ever attempted in Japan. 

Colorful, action-packed, brimming with unique and outrageous characters and aliens and brimming with special effects, Ultraman was an immediate hit which coincidentally was shown on TV when a similar new American TV series with similar attributes was airing: Batman.

The entire Ultraman series has been remastered and enhanced in a brand new DVD collection from Mill Creek Entertainment.