Ultra Q is a tokusatsu science fiction/kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho’s many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films.Produced in black and white by Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) 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 two weeks later by the more popular Ultraman (1966), the second Ultra Series.
Ultra Q
Ultra Q can be described as a half-hour Toho kaiju series. Executive Producer Eiji Tsuburaya intended this series to be more like the American television series The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, featuring all kinds of strange and unusual stories. After a survey, the TBS network convinced Tsuburaya Productions to add more giant monsters, as children were intensely interested in them, since Godzilla (Gojira) and Gamera were all the rage at the time (the first “Kaiju Boom” took off after Ultra Q became an enormous hit).[1] Much like The X-Files, the series features continuing characters who investigate strange supernatural phenomena, including giant monsters, aliens, ghosts, and various other threats.
Ultra Q
The original planned title of this project was Unbalance, and was subsequently rechristened Ultra Q mostly due to the word “Ultra” gaining popularity due to the Japanese gymnast Gold Medal recipient in the 1964 Summer Olympics using a technique named “Ultra C”. The series began production in 1964, with the premiere set for January 1966. At the time, this was the most expensive television series ever produced in Japan. The “Q” stands for “Question” and also tied with another hit TBS series, Obake no Q-tarÅ, an animated series based on the manga by Fujiko Fujio.
Ultra Q
Because of his stature as a filmmaker, and with his close relationship with Toho (they were investors in, and on the Board of Directors at, Tsuburaya Productions),[1] Eiji Tsuburaya was ordered by his crew to take what they needed from the prop warehouse, where the various props from his films were stored, for use on the series. The large Manda prop was used for the dragon Kairyu (while the head was used as the front portion of a Viking ship seen in episode 12),
Ultra Q
as well as the giant octopus prop from Frankenstein vs. Baragon became Sudar, while the Maguma suit from Gorath was repurposed as Todora. Other suits and props were refurbished to play some of the monsters, such as Godzilla for Gomess, King Kong for Goroh, Baragon for Pagos, and a small, mechanical Rodan prop was stripped down and rebuilt as the bird monsters Litra and Largeus, respectively.
Ultra Q