Spectreman

release year: 1971-2
genre: TV action/adventure
viewing setting: home DVD 7/13/22 (first two episodes)

synopsis: This Japanese tokusatsu series from the early 1970s deals with a cyborg agent and his efforts to foil the plots of evil ape-like aliens from the distant planet E.

impressions: Now this was my childhood: weird sci-fi action shows imported from other continents and dubbed in English. There were many, but I decided I wanted to see some of this one, fifty years later...and so I had to order bootleg copies because that's all there is out there. It was silly and fun, and did bring back memories. At the time of this review, I have only watched the first two episodes, which establish the basic plot: the brilliant but evil Doctor Gori (a blond ape-man) and his thug assistant Karras are going to use Earth's pollution to create giant monsters and set humanity right...while Spectreman and his alien sponsors are going to stop him every time. At the end of the second episode, Doctor Gori pretty much says all of this, showing us how it's going to be for the remaining 61 episodes.

acting: It's too early to tell just yet (and dubbing renders the actual acting moot in many ways.)

final word: Foreign sci-fi TV from the 1970s...dated, silly, yet somehow entertaining

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