UltraSeven On TNT

        UltraSeven, Tsuburaya Productions' third program in their popular Ultra series (following Ultra Q and Ultraman), consisted of 49 episodes running in Japan from October 1st, 1967 through September 8th, 1968. It is considered by most fans of the genre to be the absolute best of the Ultra series. In the mid 1990s UltraSeven was shown for the first time on American television by the cable network TNT (Turner Network Television). Originally planned as "filler" for TNT's early-morning children's slot, UltraSeven was acquired by Turner when the company bought out a Canadian film company back in the mid-1980s. The program was then relinquished to a film vault for nearly ten years. The highly popular and innovative show might have remained a "lost classic" if it had not been for the tireless efforts of Kip Doto, who went through the red tape necessary to get Turner to air the program. Now, for the first time North American fans outside of Hawaii could enjoy the second "Ultraman" series dubbed in English.
        UltraSeven follows the story of Agent 340 from Nebula M78, who is off mapping the vastness of the Milky Way when he comes across the Earth. He assumes the identity of Dan Moroboshi, joining the "Ultra Garrison" in order to further study the planet. When aliens threaten Earth, Dan uses the "Ultra Eye" to become Ultra Seven, who fights a wide variety of alien monsters.
        Many fans awaited the premiere of UltraSeven with great anticipation, assuming that TNT would treat their Ultra hero with respect, given the success of the Japanese originated Power Rangers in the United States. But it turned out to be quite the opposite. The first problem arose when TNT failed to properly advertise and promote the premiere of the show. Many fans did not hear about it until after first airings had begun. In addition the episodes were broadcast out of sequence, with some being skipped altogether, making the series feel disjointed and confused. Furthermore the time slot was the worst imaginable: 6 A.M., a time when most kids aren't awake even on a school day (not to mention their parents). It would have been smarter to schedule the show closer to the daily airing of Power Rangers.
        If TNT's botching of the air time wasn't bad enought, the treatment of UltraSeven was by far the perfect example of how NOT to handle a Japanese television program. TNT must have had a field day editing the episodes into a proper "politically correct" format, and as with the handling of Power Rangers, TNT decided to cut extensively from the series' trademark climactic battles, as if kids (or their parents) would not accept series' cartoony "violence." Many kids endure more than this day by day (reality can be harder to grasp at times), and TNT's cutting was stupid, just confusing the stories for those audiences who had never before seen them.
        The dubbing was better than the editing, though not up to the standard set by the original Ultraman series. TNT's reorganized opening credits, featuring poorly done titles and cheesy animation depicting Ultra Seven, were significantly worse. Even the Hawaiian opening credits, featuring an English language performance of the original UltraSeven song, was far better than the new TNT opening.
        The original Ultra Seven is a wonderful show, one of my personal favorites in the Ultra series, with serious minded, fast paced action. Many of the episodes feature good stories as well as fine special effects. It is highly recommended, if you can fin it on Japanese pre-record videos. TNT should be praised for at least airing the show (as well as their numerous broadcasts of Godzilla films), but their treatment of it has helped lead to ridiculously poor ratings. UltraSeven could have been Ted Turner's ultimate catch, but as the saying goes, "they let the big one get away!"