Ultra Q

ltra Q (ウルトラQ Urutora Kyū? ) is a tokusatsu SF/kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films.

Produced in black and white by Tokyo Broadcasting System/Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System from January 2 to July 3, 1966 (the final episode was preempted until December 14, 1967), with a total of 28 episodes. This series was followed a week later by the more popular Ultraman (Urutoraman, 1966), the second Ultra Series.

Ultra Q can be described as a half-hour Toho kaiju film. Although series creator Eiji Tsuburaya intended this series to be more like The Twilight Zone and focus less on the monsters, TBS convinced Eiji to add more monsters onto the show, as Godzilla (Gojira) andGamera were very popular at the time (the first "Kaiju Boom" was already born). This series predates The X-Files, with continuing characters who investigate strange supernatural phenomena, be it giant monsters, aliens, ghosts, and other assorted calamities. The single best comparison to any American TV show is to The Outer Limits, which in its original form generally featured a monster-of-the-week story.

Regarding the monsters, some of them were modified versions of Toho movie monsters (since Eiji owned the costumes). They include Godzilla (as "Gomess" in Episode 1, "Defeat Gomess!"), King Kong (as "Goro" in Episode 2, "Goro and Goro"), Manda (as "Mystic Dragon" in Episode 6, "Fly, Turtle!"), Baragon (as "Pagos" in Episode 18, "The Rainbow Egg"), Maguma (as Todola in Episode 27, "Flight 206 Vanishes"), and the Giant Octopus from King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) (as "Sudar" in Episode 23, "Rage in the South Seas").

The original planned title of this project was UNBALANCE, and was subsequently renamed Ultra Q (inspired by "Oba-Q", the nickname of the title character of the then-popular anime series Obake no Q-Taro, and "Ultra C", a popular term used for women's gymnastics during the 1964 Summer Olympics, where a Russian gymnast created an extremely difficult maneuver called the "Ultra C"). The series was produced beforehand all through 1965 (it went in production as far back as 1964) and was broadcast at the beginning of the next year. At the time, this was the most expensive TV series in Japan.

Characters

 * Jun Manjoume (Manjōme Jun) (played by Kenji Sahara): Aviator at Hosokawa Air Service and amateur SF writer.
 * Yuriko Edogawa (Edogawa Yuriko) (played by Hiroko Sakurai): Reporter for the Daily News.
 * Ippei Togawa (Togawa Ippei) (played by Yasuhiko Saijou): Jun's aviation partner at Hosokawa.
 * Professor Ichinotani (Ichinotani-hakase) (played by Ureo Egawa): World renowned scientist, and occasional assistance to Jun, Yuriko and Ippei in times of crisis.
 * News Desk Editor, Seki (played by Yoshifumi Tajima): Yuriko's boss and editor at the Daily News.

Episodes

 * 1) Defeat Gomess! (ゴメスを倒せ! Gomesu o Taose? )
 * 2) Goro and Goro (五郎とゴローGorō to Gorō? )
 * 3) A Present from Mars (宇宙からの贈りものUchū kara no Okurimono? )
 * 4) The Mammoth Flower (マンモスフラワーManmosu Furawā? )
 * 5) Peguila has Come! (ペギラが来た! Pegira ga Kita<span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 6) Grow! Turtle (育てよ! カメSodateyo! Kame<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 7) SOS Mt. Fuji (SOS富士山Esu Ō Esu Fujisan<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 8) The Terror of Sweet Honey (甘い蜜の恐怖Amai Mitsu no Kyōfu<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 9) The Spider Baron (クモ男爵Kumo Danshaku<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 10) Underground Super-Express To The West (地底超特急西へChitei Chō Tokkyū Nishi e<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 11) Balloonga (バルンガBarunga<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 12) I Saw a Bird (鳥を見たTori o Mita<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 13) Garadama (ガラダマGaradama<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 14) Tokyo Ice Age (東京氷河期Tōkyō Hyōgaki<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 15) Kanegon's Cocoon (カネゴンの繭Kanegon no Mayu<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 16) Garamon's Counterattack (ガラモンの逆襲Garamon no Gyakushū<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 17) 1/8 Project (1/8計画Hachi Bun no Ichi Keikaku<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 18) The Rainbow Egg (虹の卵Niji no Tamago<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 19) Challenge From the Year 2020 (2020年の挑戦Nisen'nijū Nen no Chōsen<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 20) Undersea Humanoid Ragon (海底原人ラゴンKaitei Genjin Ragon<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 21) Space Directive M774 (宇宙指令M774 Uchū Shirei Emu Nana Nana Yon<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 22) Transformation (変身Henshin<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 23) Rage of the South Sea (南海の怒りNankai no Ikari<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 24) The Idol of Goga (ゴーガの像Gōga no Zō<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 25) The Devil Child (悪魔ッ子Akumakko<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 26) Burn on, Glory (燃えよ栄光Moeyo Eikō<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 27) Flight 206 Disappears (206便消滅すNihyakuroku Bin Shōmetsusu<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )
 * 28) Open Up! (あけてくれ! Akete kure!<sup style="line-height: 1em; "><span class="t_nihongo_icon" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font: normal normal bold 80%/normal sans-serif; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 0.1em; padding-left: 0.1em; ">? )