Ultra Q: The Japanese X-Files Show That Preceded Ultraman
The producer intended the series to be more like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.
Ultra Q is an SF kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho’s many SF/horror films. (“Tokusatsu” is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects.) Produced in B&W by Tsuburaya Productions—a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by Godzilla movie special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya—Ultra Q is the first of the long-running Ultra Series. The series aired in 1966 with 28 episodes. This series was followed quickly by the more popular Ultraman (1966), the second Ultra Series.
In this video, MarcosHouses shares the history of Ultra Q…
History of 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 The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, with various odd stories. However, the network convinced Tsuburaya Productions to add more giant monsters, as Godzilla and Gamera were huge hits at the time. Much like The X-Files, the series Ultra Q featured regular characters investigating strange phenomena, including aliens, ghosts, giant monsters, and other horrors.
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