Mighty Jack
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Mighty Jack (マイティジャック Maitei Jakku?) is a tokusatsu SF/espionage/action TV series. Created by Japanese effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya, the show was produced by Tsuburaya Productions and was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 6, 1968 to June 29, 1968, with a total of 13 one-hour episodes. Each episode was introduced by an impressive chorus, somewhat reminiscent of 1989 Basil Poledouris Hunt for Red October.
Reportedly, Eiji Tsuburaya considered this series his masterwork because the focus was on the people rather than on the vehicles and special effects (the show never had any monsters or aliens, as his more famous shows Ultra Q, Ultraman and Ultra Seven did.) This focus on the people was similar to the works of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, of which Eiji was a big fan. The Mighty Jack mecha/HQ featured in this series also has some similarities to Eiji's previous TV masterpiece, Ultra Seven.
Even for the original series of 13 one hour-long episodes, the ratings were low. The follow-up series, Fight! Mighty Jack, fared better in the ratings, perhaps because of its inclusion of monsters and aliens rather than purely human evil-doers like Q.
Mighty Jack is also a very important series, as the insignia of the titular heroic spy team has also become the current logo for Tsuburaya Productions.
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[edit] The plot
"Mighty Jack" is the name of both a top-secret international peacekeeping organization, and the technologically advanced flying submarine they use to fight the plots of the terrorist organization "Q".
[edit] Fight! Mighty Jack
The more comical sequel series, Fight! Mighty Jack (戦え！マイティジャック - Tatakae! Maitei Jyakku), aired on the same network from July 6 to December 28, 1968, with a total of 26 half-hour episodes, equalling the original in length.
This series has several humorous references to the early Ultra Series.
- The opening scene of the series (with a reverse paint-swirling effect forming "MJ" before a burst of red envelops the scene, with a yellow "Fight! Mighty Jack" superimposed) is almost exactly like that of the original Ultraman.
- One episode of this series is quite notable, as it features a comical guest appearance by Kohji Moritsugu, who played Dan Moroboshi, the alter-ego of Ultra Seven, poking fun at his popular role. He plays a mechanic, who, in one scene, looked as though he was about to transform into Ultra Seven by pulling the Ultra Eye from his pocket to put it on, but the red object he slowly pulls from his pocket is actually a small wrench with which he gets right to work on fixing a machine.
[edit] Mighty Jack in the US (and on MST3K)
In 1986, American producer Sandy Frank took the first and last episodes of Mighty Jack (with parts of episodes in between) and combined them into a dubbed, feature-length film of the same title. The movie gained its widest exposure in the United States when it was shown as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode on Comedy Central. (The movie was actually featured on the show twice: once during the first season, which only played on a single UHF TV station, and then again midway through the third season of the show's run on cable.)
[edit] External links
- Japanese Mighty Jack fansite (includes video of Japanese main title)
- Video of opening for Fight! Mighty Jack
- Maitei Jyakku at the Internet Movie Database
- Mighty Jack at the Internet Movie Database
- Daddy's Drive-In Dirt on Episode 314 -- information about the movie's appearance on MST3K
