Ultra Seven is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. Ultra Seven is the third installment in the Ultra Series and was produced by Tsuburaya Productions and aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 1, 1967 to September 8, 1968.
Ultra Seven
In the not-too-distant future, Earth finds itself constantly under attack from extraterrestrial threats. To combat them, the Terrestrial Defense Force establishes the Ultra Garrison, a team of six elite members who utilize high-tech vehicles and weaponry. Joining their fight is the mysterious Dan Moroboshi who is secretly an alien from the Land of Light in Nebula M-78 and transforms into his true alien form, Ultraseven, in times of crisis.
Ultra Seven
After the success of space-themed science fiction shows such as Ultraman, Captain Ultra, and the Japanese broadcast of Lost in Space, Tokyo Broadcasting System pursued Tsuburaya Productions to produce another sci-fi series. This led Eiji Tsuburaya to assemble Hajime Tsuburaya, Akio Jissoji, Tetsuo Kinjo, Masami Sueyasu, and Shoji Otomo to brainstorm ideas.[2]
Ultra Seven
Eiji Tsuburaya proposed a series that would have been a hybrid of Thunderbirds and Lost in Space, Hajime proposed a new Ultraman series that would have included network and sponsors’ input for each season, Jissoji proposed a time-travel themed show which would have focused on a time patrol team and their families, Kinjo proposed a children’s horror/mystery show that would have been a hybrid of Ultra Q and The Twilight Zone, Sueyasu proposed a fairy tale-themed series, and Otomo proposed a space-themed series which would have been a cross of Lost in Space and Men into Space featuring giant monsters.[2]
Ultra Seven
TBS eventually settled on a fusion of Eiji’s and Otomo’s ideas and Eiji submitted a treatment titled The Ultra Garrison, which featured six trained astronauts (including an android named “John”) stationed on a satellite called “Mother”, the first line of defense against alien invaders. Kinjo felt that the idea was lacking an essential element and suggested adding a superhero.[2]
The treatment underwent massive revisions after TBS felt the idea was too similar to The Great Space War and the new version included giant monsters while retaining the original Earth Defense Force element at TBS’ request.[2] TBS eventually suggested to make the series a direct sequel to Ultraman and have it focused on Hayata and Fuji’s son, who would be able to call upon Earth monsters for help and only transform into Ultraman in times of desperation.[3]
Ultra Seven
Tetsuo Kinjo began working on an outline, combining elements of TBS’ best ideas and his own, such as elements from his rejected proposal Woo, which featured an alien unwittingly becoming a savior of mankind. Kinjo’s outline was titled Ultra Eye and featured Dan Moroboshi being the son of a human and an alien, with Dan coming to Earth in search of his mother. This version also featured Capsule Monsters that Dan would have used when he could not transform. Originally, monsters from Ultra Q and Ultraman were going to be used as the Capsule Monsters in order to cut down production costs.[4]
Ultra Seven
Tohru Narita was assigned to design the aliens, monsters, and vehicles. Narita’s design for Ultra Seven was inspired by Mayan culture and originally chose silver and blue for the colors, but changed them to silver and red to avoid problems with the blue-screen matte process.[5]
Ultraseven battles Narse in episode 11 “Fly to Devil’s Mountain”
Principal photography on the special effects began in May 1967 and casting began in June 1967. Many of the actors hired were chosen from Toho’s acting pool, since the studio was one of the financial investors for Tsuburaya Productions.[6] Yoji Hashimoto and Toshimichi Miwa were put in charge of duties with TBS for the show, while Eiji Tsuburaya served as the chief producer and supervisor for the show and Masami Sueyasu reprised his role as a hands-on producer for Tsuburaya Productions.[7]
Four episodes were completed before copyright was approved for the show’s title, which was changed to Ultra Seven. The show was filmed silent, a common practice for Japanese shows at the time, and post-production, including editing and voice dubbing, began in September 1967. Toru Fuyuki was hired to compose the soundtrack, gearing towards a more classical direction as opposed to the jazz-inspired direction Kunio Miyauchi took for the Ultraman soundtrack.[8]
Ultra Seven
Ultra Seven aired on October 1, 1967 and earned a 33.7% rating, an achievement at the time.[8] Due to the show’s high ratings, TBS ordered an additional 10 episodes during preparations for the show’s third Cours (episodes 27-39). Despite ratings dropping during the final weeks, Ultra Seven still remained in the top five highest rated shows in Japanese television at the time.[9]
Sequels for both Ultraman, titled Ultraman Continues, and Ultra Seven, titled Fight! Ultra Seven, were proposed, but Tsuburaya Productions would not produce another Ultra Series TV show until 1971, with The Return of Ultraman.[9]
Ultra Seven