From Beyond Television: Ultraseven Episode #3

Episode Three: SECRET FROM THE LAKE ***

"Men on this planet can't resist pretty girls like us!"

An unidentified object has landed somewhere near the Kiso Mountains. Dan and Furuhashi are sent to find any wreckage, or signs of life. They find a young girl swimming in Lake Azuma as well as a spaceship nearby. Both men go aboard the craft where they find a girl that looks exactly like the one they saw swimming in the lake. The two men are temporarily knocked unconscious by gas emitting from the walls of the ship. When Dan comes to, he realizes the Ultra Eye is missing. Without it, he can't turn into Ultraseven. 

Not long after, a giant monster named Eleking emerges from Lake Azuma. Till he can locate the Ultra Eye, Dan uses one of his space capsules to send Monster Mikuras to battle the amphibious Eleking, a beast under the control of two insectoid twin creatures posing as little girls with plans to wipe out all of mankind.



Again the script isn't fleshed out to a great degree, but for this sort of thing, it's not totally necessary. There are hints that the two insect-like fem-aliens disguised as little girls are on some twisted environmental mission to wipe out mankind to have the planet all to themselves, but details aren't elaborated on. 

Environmentalist propaganda was commonplace in 70s cinema and TV both here and abroad. Japan often commented on the results of atomic testing particularly in Ishiro Honda's Toho Sci-Fi films; it was a subject that was devastatingly personable for them after the effects of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.



What's of minor interest on an apocalyptic note is the resemblance of the two alien twins to insects (see above). It's said that if man were to destroy himself, insects such as cockroaches could possibly survive a nuclear holocaust. It's also curious that in so many Japanese science fiction movies and television programs from the late 60s onward, women are almost always the antagonistic leaders, or sole representation of an alien race.



With its threadbare storyline, 'Secret From the Lake' has a ton of action and special effects. It's heaviest on the monsters of the three episodes up to this point. Eleking is onscreen for about half the running time. The battle in and around the lake with Mikuras is a lot of fun as is the skirmish with Ultraseven. The last moment of the fight with Seven contains a graphic moment of gruesome violence that was often seen in the fights in the 'Showa' Gamera series of films and totally unexpected.



This is also the first time we see the Ultra Hawk 3 air ship as well as the second appearance of Ultra Hawk 2, a spacecraft used primarily for outer space exploration.

Overall, this is a superb action episode, and a highlight of the series in terms of the fun factor that Tokusatsu shows bring to the table; enabling older fans to remember what it's like to be a kid all over again.

MONSTERS: Eleking (amphibious monster of alien origin), Mikuras; Miclas (One of Ultraseven's monster helpers)

WEAPONS: Ultra Hawk #1, #2 and #3

To be continued in Episode Four: THE STOLEN EYE!!!

From Beyond Television: Ultraseven Episode #2

Episode two: THE GREEN TERROR **1/2

Dubbed title: SHRUBS FROM SPACE 




A strange metallic rock lands outside the home of Agent Ishuguro, one of the Ultra Garrison members. Having spent six months in solitude aboard Space Station V3, Ishuguro returns to Earth for vacation. Escorting him home, Moroboshi spies the large, peculiar space rock. Using his telepathic powers, he recognizes it as being from another planet. Later that night, agent Ishuguro transforms into a blood-drinking plant creature. He roams the street killing passersby who eventually come back to life as plant monsters who likewise spread the contagion.

This bizarre episode is an intriguing take on vampirism, this time from an interplanetary virus seemingly controlled by a hunk of rock from outer space. Unfortunately, the origin of this virus is never fully explained. 

A peculiar postman delivers a box to the Ishuguro household that contains a smaller metal rock (Moroboshi identifies this space metal as Chillsonite 808 from the planet YR), but we never learn just who he is. He's obviously connected, but the script never gives an explanation. 



This second episode, despite having an idea of great interest to play around with (shades of THE LAST MAN ON EARTH from 1964 starring Vincent Price and particularly INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS), has enough plot holes for a full length feature. Who is the weird delivery man? What sort of aliens are these? Why is the host being kept comatose within a large metal rock? Why does the alien creature imitating the body of the host need a smaller rock with a hidden transmitter? The answers to those questions won't be found here.

Even with its murky plot details, this 25 minute take on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) told via Japanese Tokusatsu conventions is a fun programmer benefiting from some choice effects work.



Ultraseven gets to "grow" this time unlike the first episode where he remains normal size. He briefly battles this likewise gigantic plant monster from another world (not referred to by name; at least not in the subtitles). It's also the first of many times Seven is seen using his Emerium Beam. 




Agent Anne gets to partake in the action (she doesn't do much the rest of the time leaving the sandbox for the guys) in a scene where she incapacitates one of the beasts (with the hand laser called The Paralyzer) after it transforms while the Ultra Guard study the body of a victim.

MONSTERS: Wyarr; Wyaan (blood drinking alien plant creature from planet YR)

WEAPONS: The Paralyzer (laser pistol that neutralizes a potential threat), Ultra Hawk 1 (cameo at end)

To be continued in Episode Three: SECRET FROM THE LAKE!!!