Review: Ultraman Episode 17 - Passport to Infinity

Ultraman Episode #17

Passport to Infinity

Original Air Date: November 11th, 1966

Directed by: Toshihiro Iijima

Screenplay by: Keisuke Fujikawa

Our episode begins with a Mr. Yesterdy (it sounds like Yesterday but I'm just going with the Tubi subtitles here) studying a blue meteorite he found on a recent expedition. All seems normal until it opens up and makes him disappear. His secretary comes in and notices he has vanished so that's when the SSSP is called into action. Ide and Arashi are sent to meet with the secretary. We learn her name is Yoko Fuji and she's not related to our Akiko Fuji. Ide seems to be excited to get to know her but it ultimately gets nowhere because Arashi screws up his chances by wanting to keep to business. The ground begins to shake and Mr. Yesterdy appears outside and he says Mr. Fukui is in danger. The blue meteorite also returned with Mr. Yesterdy but it flies away.

Arashi goes to meet Mr. Fukui who has a red meteorite that he found on the expedition with Mr. Yesterdy. Arashi asks if the SSSP can take the red meteorite back to HQ to look over it and Mr. Fukui agrees as long as they watch him too. There really was no danger to him once the meteorite left his hands but they don't know that. 

The blue meteorite is found by another scientist, Dr. Kawaguchi, in the middle of the road. What are the odds?! Maybe it's attracted to people of science. Dr. Kawaguchi begins to analyze the meteorite when it opens up again and starts making the camera go crazy. This episode has a lot of creative camerawork and some of it makes me sick to my stomach. The screen was moving all over the place and I wanted to throw up. It's still pretty cool though even if I had to look away from the screen. So poor Dr. Kawaguchi gets stuck in another dimension and once again the SSSP is called. 

Hayata and Captain Muramatsu go to investigate this time. None of their communications work in the lab because they are in a fourth dimensional world as Hayata describes it. They find Kawaguchi in the lab and get him outside where the rest of the SSSP has arrived. They decide to take the blue meteorite back to HQ to join the red one. We cut to Hoshino who is in this episode. He tells Akiko Fuji earlier in the episode that he wants to help with the case so he visits Mr. Yesterdy. Yesterdy tells Hoshino that it would be dangerous to put the two meteorites together. 

So the SSSP puts the two meteorites together. We cut to Hayata getting told by Dr. Kawaguchi that the two halves of the meteorite combining could form a giant creature. Hoshino runs into HQ to tell Fuji all this but she takes him outside for his trouble. They actually get lucky because the meteorite combines and becomes bigger and takes on a different shape. It's now known as Bullton. Bullton traps the SSSP HQ in the fourth dimension. 

This leads to more trippy scenes that I can't look at my computer screen too long or I will lose my lunch. One of my favorite shots is where as you see in the picture above, you can tell they are already upsidedown because of how their hair looks before the camera flips around. Ide also starts walking up a stairway to heaven at some point before he ends up in a trash can. I like when he has a trash can on his head and walks towards the captain. He gets called an idiot again though which I do not appreciate because Ide is a genius.

Hayata, Hoshino, and Fuji are left to deal with Bullton on the outside. Bullton is pretty formidable too. Tanks and fighter jets try to destroy Bullton but it uses fourth dimensional tactics to put the tanks in the sky and the jets on ground blowing them up. Bullton probably kills around thirty people in this episode. Hayata has seen enough so he runs off from Hoshino and Fuji and transforms into Ultraman. Ultraman has some trouble at first. He tries a flying kick but Bullton stops him in his tracks. Bullton starts messing with the dimensions around Ultraman but Ultraman eventually figures out that if he spins really fast it messes up Bullton's antenna so it can't warp the dimensions. Ultraman fires two Spacium Beams at Bullton and turns it back into the small meteorite which Ultraman crushes in his hand. 

 

Hoshino and Fuji find Hayata passed out on the ground outside. Hoshino makes fun of him for going out all excited to face the Bullton and then ending up knocked out. It's a good cover for him transforming into Ultraman. Back at HQ, everything is back to normal with Bullton gone. They don't know that yet so Arashi has his Spider Shot out ready to kill but Hayata, Hoshino, and Fuji return and tell them Bullton has been defeated by Ultraman. Hoshino and Fuji mention to Muramatsu that Hoshino helped them so he should be rewarded. Hoshino is then rewarded with his very own creamsicle SSSP uniform. Big moment for Hoshino but it's too bad episode 16 and 17 were aired out of order because we already saw him in the uniform in the last episode. I always hate when that stuff happens. It's why I only watch the original Star Trek series in production order. 

 

This was a decent but well directed episode with all the crazy camera angles. A monster that can change dimensions is different and I like that. It doesn't make for a good Ultraman fight since all he can do is shoot at it but it's still fun. Hoshino becoming an honorary member of the SSSP good for his character development since we know it was his dream to become a member. I've started to like Hayata more the last couple episodes since he has been given a little more to do. Everyone else filled their roles for this one.

Episode 18 is titled "Brother From Another Planet" and that sounds like an episode with good potential. Will it be a brother to Ultraman? Maybe just a friendly alien that drops by to visit. I'll find out when I watch it and you can find out with me on Twitter @TokuTomFoolery where I will be live tweeting.