Ultraman

"The energy that UltraMan gets from the Sun diminishes rapidly in Earths' atmosphere. The Warning Light begins to blink! Should it stop completely, it means UltraMan will NEVER RISE AGAIN!!!"

In every episode, the above passage let you know that UltraMan was gonna kick some major-league booty! It was cheesy as hell, but a lot of fun. This was your standard guy-in- a-rubber suit Japanese sci-fi thriller, but somehow it developed a very loyal fan base both here in the U.S. and its' native Japan.

In the not-too-distant future, our hero Hayata (tall, perfect hair, firm jaw) is a stalwart member of The Science Patrol. Their mission is to investigate strange happenings that baffle the local authorities. During one fateful mission, Hayata is tragically (and inadvertently) killed by the arrival of an interstellar visitor, the mysterious UltraMan! UltraMan is so distraught by this accident, that he fuses his life and Hayata's. They will live symbiotically. Whenever danger threatens, Hayata has only to activate the Beta Capsule and he becomes the 200 foot tall champion of humanity, the mighty UltraMan!

When I was a kid we watched this series and it was so exciting...and how I used to crush on Hayata, the character who turns into Ultraman. I was recently delighted to discover Ultraman available on some cable channel. The beauty of wires on space craft, the artistry of spinning space junk, the dynamic firecracker explosions, wicked lazer beam special effects, and cheesy Tokyo models being destroyed by various monsters, and the dramatic facial expressions of anger all come together to make this series the absolute pinnacle of Saturday afternoon binging. ...we're currently watching the episode about the alien Mephiles-Sejin attempting to take over the planet. Hayata is being held in suspended animation and Fuji has been turned into a giant Mega-Fugi destroying Tokyo with girly punches. Mephiles-Sejin is furious that the child Satoru is unwilling to give the planet to the alien. Ultraman finds a way to fly to the giant leading monster. After finding it impossible to convince the monster to leave the planet with negotiations, they begin a flight battle the includes the best of light beams. After nearly being annihilated, Ultraman manages to wrestle the bad guy into submission. Yes, another day of Planet Earth being saved by ULTRAMAN. HA HA HA HA!!!

This was a show that I can remember rushing to get home from school to watch! Who would Ultraman face today? How would Hyata save the day without being seen using the beta capsule? Would Ultraman destroy his opponent before running out of energy? Who would get to fly the jet plane and who would stay at the station? And what kind of mess would those two science patrol clowns get into? Then after the show, I remember going outside with my friends and playing Ultraman. This show occurred during a time when kids could be kids and not worry about someone saying a show is too violent. This show was purely about imagination, loyalty, and caring for others by defending against evil. Cool stuff!

I ran home from school as so many others did to enjoy Ultraman and Space Giants. Reading all the other comments made me realize that even if we never met or come from different walks of life and environments, we share similarities far greater than any in-differences! Long live the spirit of Ultraman-kind! Speed Racer was also another favorite of mine. It increases my belief in our humanness that somehow will always thrive and what is truly good and decent exists in us all when we choose to nurture that which inspires us to spread our most heart-felt and sincere emotions. Not being afraid of sounding odd or out of touch or corny. Like Mary Tyler Moore said....As the human race.."were going to make it after-all".

I was lucky enough to live in an area on the United States that had a station that aired Ultraman and Johnny Sokko & His Flying Robot in the 70's. I was a big Speed Racer fan(now on the SPEED Channel), but was more into the live action tv shows like Jason of Star Command, Ark II, Space Academy, Land of the Lost, Six Million Dollar Man, etc. I've seen many different Ultraman series but this is my favorite and the one I saw in the 70's. The silver praying mantis looking face, the crossing of the arms to shoot an electric charge, it was just great entertainment. Iota was a great character to turn into Ultraman with a great team to fight monsters. TBS aired Ultra 7 for a while, I guess Ted Turner owns the rights, it's similar to this Ultraman series but the production and voice over quality isn't nearly as good. Don't miss it!!!