ULTRAMAN: THE ULTIMATE HERO 
Episode Guide
Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero was the second of the long-running Japanese Ultraman series to be produced outside of Japan and in English. It was shot during the summer of 1993 in Los Angeles, California and featured some of the most detailed and lifelike monsters ever seen in an Ultraman series.
Although it's obvious that a lot of time and talent went into the production of this series, the end result has fallen slightly short of expectations. The U.S. production company (SteppinStone Entertainment) cannot be faulted for this since the Japanese studio which owns the rights to Ultraman (Tsuburaya) reportedly underfunded the production severely (a situation echoing what happened between the South Australian Film Corporation and Tsuburaya during the production of Ultraman: Towards the Future). 
It seems (at least to this reporter!) that although Tsuburaya made a big deal of the fact that both Towards the Future and Ultimate Hero were being produced outside of Japan - and in English - the company wanted the productions to fail miserably - leading to the unfair assumption among the public that the only decent Ultraman show could be produced in the Orient!
A closer examination of the episodes reveals that the majority of the stories are very well-crafted, the monster costumes look sensational (though perhaps too much so since they seem less agile than their Japanese counterparts) and the performances by the lead and guest actors are all top notch (see who's guest-starred on the series later in the guide). All in all, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero deserves a look and what with all the Japanese programs that have become successful in the past couple of years (admittedly watered-down versions of the originals) there seems to be no reason why this show shouldn't have made it to the airwaves!
NOTE: All photos used on this webpage are (c)2000 by Tsuburaya Productions and are used here purely for illustrative purposes.
Noboru Tsuburaya
PRODUCERS:
Juliet Avola
Kazuo Tsuburaya
Shigeru Watanabe
MUSIC:
Toshihiko Sahashi
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REGULAR CAST (Pictured L-R)KANE KOSUGI as Lieutenant Kenichi Kai |
PREMISE:
A being from an intergalactic peace-keeping agency merges his being with a member of the Worldwide Investigative Network Response (WINR) team in order to combat the savage monsters and sinister aliens which threaten the planet Earth. In times of danger, Kenichi Kai activates his beta capsule to become his gigantic, silver and red alien alter ego, who becomes known as "Ultraman".
"ON A MISSION FROM M78" (episode #1) A mysterious spacecraft enters orbit just beyond Earth's moon and launches three pods toward the planet's surface. One of the pods is intercepted by the WINR team who determine its extraterrestrial composition is similar to certain Earth insects. Soon they detect the craft from which the pods were launched and attempt to destroy it using their satellite defense systems. However, WINR's attempts are thwarted by the arrived of another fast-moving UFO. Kai and Young are sent to pursue the UFO when it enters Earth's atmosphere while Captain Edlund and Colonel Sanders investigate the disappearance of 2 police officers who reported seeing "a lot of eyes" in a downtown warehouse. Kai and Young inspect the crater where the UFO apparently crashed but are halted by the appearance of a blinding red light. When the light fades, Young finds that Kai has disappeared. Captain Edlund and Colonel Sanders discover the presence of a single, insectoid alien in the warehouse and begin to pursue it on foot. Meanwhile, inside a chamber of brilliant light, Kai is told by a disembodied voice that his help is needed in order to defeat the Baltans, the aliens who launched the pods and who are now beginning an invasion of Earth. Edlund and Sanders pursue the lone Baltan to an open clearing where they discover more aliens waiting for them. Sanders fires upon the aliens but when the smoke clears, a single gigantic alien stands before them. Although Edlund and Sanders do their best to stop the alien, it takes the timely arrival of another gigantic, silver and red alien to stop the Baltans... for the time being. GUEST CAST: Mari Weiss & Steven R. Barnett as the police officers WRITER: King Wilder DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"CATCH A KEMURA BY THE TAIL" (episode #2) While WINR tries to ascertain the implications of the recent Baltan attack and the appearance of the silver and red giant, farmers in a rural community begin reporting that their cattle have been disappearing. 
WINR launches the Mobile Transport Carrier (MTC), their large roving command center and discovers that the animal disappearances are being caused by a creature burrowing under the ground. Beck determines that the creature is called Kemura and that it first appeared in Asia twenty years ago, causing similar problems. When WINR attempts to drive Kemura to the surface, it takes Kai and his alien alter ego to defeat the monster. [NOTE: In this episode WINR finally starts referring to Ultraman by name.] GUEST CAST: Conrad Bachmann as Herlihy, Ed Morgan, Patti Pelican as the reporter WRITER: King Wilder DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"A QUARTET OF CREATURES" (episode #3) A documentary film crew working in South America has discovered a place where gigantic, prehistoric monsters freely roam the land as they did millions of years ago. When the crew's gear mysteriously disappears along with their only method of calling for aid, WINR comes to the rescue. Cornered in a mountain cavern by the ferocious Red King, the film crew find their equipment being guarded by another tiny, red creature named Pigmon. The creature's benign nature gives them the idea of taking back a live specimen to put on display rather than just film footage of monsters fighting each other. While Sanders and Young try to divert Red King's attention in one of the Hawk fighter craft, Kai ventures in on foot for a rescue. But when it becomes evident that WINR's weapons are having no effect on the monster, Kai transforms into Ultraman. The alien giant has no problem holding off Red King until its larger, more ferocious and more powerful mate shows up! [NOTE: Jeffrey Combs who appears in this episode is perhaps best known from the "Reanimator" films and for recurring roles on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".] GUEST CAST: Jeffrey Combs as Sheck, Julie Uribe as Babs, Phillip Tanzini as Pete, Elias Gallegos as Katonga WRITER: John Douglas DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"THE DARK PAST" (episode #4) A pair of seismologists working in a remote cavern have detected unusual underground activity. Theresa Beck & Kenichi Kai are sent to investigate and Kai disappears when another tremor rocks the cavern. While Beck tries to console herself for losing Kai, the rest of the WINR team has determined that the seismic activity is being caused by a strange object moving underground toward the city. That night, a gigantic armor-plated lizard emerges from the Earth and begins a destructive rampage in the city. Meanwhile, Kai is being held prisoner by a race of people who have lived underground since the destruction of the dinosaurs. 
It is these underdwellers who have sent the lizardlike monster, whom they call Teresdon, to destroy the human world so that they can once again rule on surface. GUEST CAST: Alex Nevil as Kyle Morrison, Judy Jean Burns, John Towey, Bruce Spalding Fuller, Jim Eusterman & Kevin Hudson as the Underdwellers WRITER: Stephen Karandy DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"MONSTROUS MELTDOWN" (episode #5) An energy company has been tracking what they believe to be a moving underground uranium mine. Mr. Keins, the head of the company comes to WINR after one of his drivers is seemingly swallowed by the ground itself. WINR arrives at the site where the company plans to blast open the uranium mine with dynamite. However, instead of a mine, they end up bringing a giant monster (Gabora, who isn't referred to by name) to the surface. WINR manages to drive the creature back underground but it alters its course - heading for a nearby nuclear facility. WINR makes the amazing discovery that the creature's body is radioactive and that it actually appears to consume uranium. WINR prepares to defend the nuclear facility against the creature, believing they can use uranium to lure the creature away from the plant. However, when the plan fails and it appears that the creature's attack will cause a destructive nuclear meltdown, it's up to Ultraman to save the day. [NOTE: Bill Mumy, famous for both "Lost in Space" and "Babylon 5" appears briefly in the beginning of this episode before being swallowed up by Gabora! Now there's something to put on your resume!] GUEST CAST: Danny Hicks as Keins, Kevin Page, Brenda Klemme, Art Bonilla, Ray Raglin, Bill Mumy as Fenton WRITER: Bud Robertson DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"THE DADA EFFECT" (episode #6) A noted computer executive disappears after working on his home terminal one night and when the police cannot determine the significance of the strange clues they find at his apartment, they call in WINR to aid in their investigation. Kai and Sanders soon discover that other employees at the same computer firm have disappeared under a similar circumstances, and they trace the disappearances back to an ex-employee whom the company let go and then stole his ideas. It turns out that he made contact with a silicon-based life form called the DaDa, who are using the Internet to invade our world and to suck humans into cyberspace to create more of their own kind. WINR tries to convince the computer company to help them destroy the DaDa, but the executive board insists on capturing the creatures for study. When the plan backfires and the DaDa begin to take over the company, Kai once again calls on his alien alter ego to send the DaDa to cyber hell. 
[NOTE: Yes, that's THE Rose Marie from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" seen in the beginning. Wendy Robie is perhaps best known as Nadine Hurley from "Twin Peaks".] GUEST CAST: Jack Ong, Wolf Muser, Steve Eastin, Wendy Robie, Jeffrey Thomas Johnson, Rose Marie as the neighbor WRITER: John Douglas DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"TAILS FROM THE CRYPTS" (episode #7) A pair of college students, spelunking in a cave discover a mysterious capsule at the bottom of a pit. Meanwhile, the Department of Water and Power calls in WINR when they discover a similar object that has washed up in a drainage ditch after a flood. Beck is excited at the prospect of discovering such an ancient object, but when WINR calls in Doctor Whitaker, an expert in ancient civilizations - and Beck's old mentor - to assist them, her enthusiasm quickly fades. It seems that Whitaker and Beck had a falling out years ago when she decided to join WINR rather than pursue a career as a scientist. Their investigation reveals that the capsule WINR found is one of two prisons built millennia ago to contain a pair of legendary monsters called Aboras and Banilla. Meanwhile, the students who discovered the other capsule take some photos which they plan to publish in their college newspaper. However, the light from the camera's flash activates a release mechanism in the capsule and Aboras is freed. Beck and Whitaker realize their mistake in attempting to open the capsule and join up with WINR in tracking Aboras and Banilla as they head for an inevitable confrontation in the city. When the monsters face off in the college football stadium, Kai notices the two students, still chasing their story, put in mortal danger by the presence of the two creatures. He must call upon Ultraman once again to vanquish the creatures and save the students. 
[NOTE: Steve Monarque was a regular on "Friday the 13th: The Series" while John G. Hertzler is better known as General Martok from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".] GUEST CAST: Jason Todd Majik, Catherine Nagan, John G. Hertzler as Dr. Whitaker, Steve Monarque as the DPW worker, Shano Palovich WRITER: Bud Robertson DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"A FATHER'S LOVE" (episode #8) Julie Young's niece becomes the focus of a government investigation when she begins making claims that her father, the astronaut Jamra Miller has suddenly returned to Earth after being lost in space. When a pair of government agents try to kidnap her, Jamra does in fact appear to stop them and Young can't believe her eyes when her brother-in-law suddenly turns into a metallic giant in order to protect his daughter. The agents succeed in their attempts and Kai, Young and Beck begin their own search for the girl. They track her down to an abandoned warehouse where Jamra appears one last time as well. It seems that the government is holding Jamra's daughter in order to capture him, find out what happened to him out in space and try to make an army of others like him. When the agents try to tranquilize Jamra, he once again turns into the metallic giant and goes on a rampage. Cut off from WINR's resources, Kai has to transform into Ultraman in order to stop Jamra. [NOTE: You may remember Jesse Goins from his role as Cyler, one of Ralph Hinkley's students on "The Greatest American Hero".] GUEST CAST: Phillip Stewart as Jamra Miller, Marisa Theodore, John McCann, Kimberly Beck, Jesse Goins, Steven Kramer WRITER: Stephen Karandy DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"FIRES BELOW" (episode #9) Several mysterious brushfires have been spontaneously igniting near where a logging crew has been working. Frustrated by the lack of work being carried out, and unable to go to the regular authorities, the head of the logging company calls in WINR to investigate the cause of the fires. When WINR discovers that the fires are being caused by a monster (Zambora - again, it's never called by name) who's body temperature is so high that it causes fires to just ignite all around it, they take measures to stop it. However, the heat from the monster's body plays havoc with WINR's equipment forcing Kai to once again transform into Ultraman. But will this be the one monster that prove to be too hot for even Ultraman to handle? GUEST CAST: Michael Hungerford, Greg Callahan, Will Jeffries, Michael R. Long WRITER: Todd Gilbert DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"DEADLY STARFISH" (episode #10) When a storage tank at an oil refinery collapses under mysterious circumstances, the oil company calls in WINR to investigate. In discovering the cause of the refinery disasters, Kai is reunited with Arturo Mendez, a pilot with whom he had trained and who didn't make the cut to join WINR. Mendez is now working as a firefighter for the oil company and when the cause of all the disasters, the monstrous starfish-like Pestar, appears Mendez and Kai must put their personal rivalry aside in order to prevent the refinery from burning to the ground. Of course, with a little help from Ultraman and Mendez's precision Hawk piloting, Pestar doesn't stand a chance. [NOTE: Jaime P. Gomez now stars as Evan, one of the detectives who works with Don Johnson on "Nash Bridges".] GUEST CAST: Jaime P. Gomez as Arturo Mendez, Tom Finnegan, Millie Novak, E.E. Bell, Martin Brinton, Judy Louise Johnson WRITER: Bud Robertson DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"DINO MIGHT" (episode #11) A noted scientist, Dr. Nagana, returns from Tibet with what could be the greatest scientific discovery of the twentieth century: a perfectly preserved Gomorasaurus. As in Jurassic Park, the scientists and WINR team speculate on the possibility of bringing the million-year-old creature back to life. One night, during a fierce electrical storm, that exact thing happens. Now WINR must discover a way to stop the creature, without destroying it, before it stomps the city to rubble. The timely arrival of Ultraman ensures that the creature resumes its millennia-long sleep. 
[NOTE: No doubt you've seen Tracy Walter in many films and TV series - most notably "Batman" and "Conan:The Destroyer".] GUEST CAST: Danny Kamekona as Dr. Nagana, Sandra Spriggs, Warren Stanhope, Dan Lorg, Tracy Walter WRITER: Tim Lennane DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"FALLING STARS SPELL TROUBLE" (episode #12) The Baltan ship, thought to have been driven off in episode #1, returns and launches three more pods to Earth. This time, however, the Baltans have decided to completely obliterate WINR and Ultraman by sending a regenerated Red King and the bladed monster Dorako to do their dirty work for them. WINR succeeds in eliminating Red King from the picture but not before losing a few Hawks, and Ultraman is forced to face Dorako alone. 
Ultraman succeeds in destroying the vicious beast but is severely injured in the fight and is forced to transform back to Kai while still in his weakened condition. Also, unbeknownst to Ultraman or the WINR team, just before Dorako was destroyed, it transmitted a signal back to the Baltan ship. A signal which awakens something even worse... GUEST CAST: Ted Prior, Karl A. Lucht WRITER: Walter A. Doty, III DIRECTOR: King Wilder
"THE FINAL SHOWDOWN?" (episode #13) Another Baltan pod is launched towards Earth and crashes into WINR headquarters, totally obliterating the base. From the pod emerges Zeton, the Baltans' ultimate weapon, ready to do battle with WINR and Ultraman. Meanwhile, the beaten and tattered remnants of the WINR team plan their next move. While caring for the injured and unconscious Kai in the MTC medical bay, Beck discovers that he possesses wounds identical to the ones Ultraman had inflicted on him by Dorako. Going through his discarded uniform, she discovers the beta capsule which begins to glow. WINR are ordered to stop Zeton at all costs and as they maneuver the MTC into position, the still-unconscious Kai hears his alien alter ego. 
Ultraman apologizes to Kai for the pain he has caused and prepares to separate himself from Kai and face Zeton alone. Zeton proves to be too great a foe for Ultraman to overcome and he falls to ground, barely clinging to life.Meanwhile, Beck determines that the beta capsule holds a tremendous amount of energy and so she decides to hook it up to the MTC's onboard power supply in order to increase their weapons power and perhaps destroy the alien menace. 
WINR's efforts prove successful and as they hover over the fallen Ultraman, three spheres of red light descend from the sky and envelope his body. WINR realizes that Ultraman's people have come to take him home to Nebula M78. GUEST CAST: Harold Cannon-Lopez WRITER: Walter A. Doty, III DIRECTOR: King Wilder
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