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Godzilla - Thirty story
tall (300 foot) prehistoric monster featured on the animated
Hanna-Barbera series THE GODZILLA SHOW /NBC/1978-80 (later titled
THE GODZILLA POWER HOUR and GODZILLA SUPER 90)
The cartoon follows the adventures of the Calico, a white
ocean-going research vessel under the command of Captain Carl
Majors. His crew included Dr. Darien Quinn (lead scientist); her
nephew Pete (blond teenager), and Brock (Carl’s black first mate).
The protector of the ship was a huge reptile called Godzilla. He
befriended the ship's crew after they had rescued a younger,
winged version of Godzilla named Godzooky (supposedly a nephew).
To summon Godzilla, Capt. Majors uses a hand-held sonic device
that buzzes Godzilla on the ocean floor. If the signal was not
handy, Godzooky's cry for help also worked wonders at retrieving
Godzilla from the deep.
During their travels, the crew of the Calico faced many
dangers like tidal waves, earthquakes and deadly asteroids as well
as creatures like The Mega-Volt Monster, The Seaweed Monster, The
Time Dragons, The Stone Creatures, The Magnetic Horror, The Energy
Beast, The Eartheater, The Firebird and The Cyborg Whale.
Luckily, Godzilla was always on hand to save the day with his
mighty strength, fiery breath and the red-laser like rays that
shot from his eye.
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Godzooky, Majors, Pete,
Brock, Darien & Guest |
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Godzilla's fiery breath |
Godzilla's Laser Beam Eyes |
Theme Song Lyrics
Up from the depths
Thirty stories high
Breathing fire
His head in the sky
Godzilla!
Godzilla!
Godzilla!
And Godzooky . . .
In the 1990s, the American film version Godzilla (1998)
arrived in the theatres. However, it was not what moviegoers were
used to seeing in a Gozilla film.
According to Steve Ryfle, author of "Japan's Favorite MonStar: The
Unauthorized Biography of the Big G," the reason the film failed
was because
"People go to a Godzilla movie expecting to see Godzilla come up
out of the water, trash a city, get beat up by the military, and
meet another giant monster. And then they want to see Godzilla
kick that monster's ass. When you deviate from that, you're
messing with people's hopes and expectations and they feel
betrayed."
Inspired by the theatrical film, the
sci-fi animated cartoon GODZILLA: THE SERIES/FOX/1998-2000 (40
episodes) picked up where the film left off and followed
biologist, Nick Tatopoulos and one of Godzilla's off-springs (148
feet tall) as they investigated strange phenomena and ecological
disasters for H.E.A.T (Humanitarian Ecological Analysis Team), a
division of New York Institute of Technology's "World Assistance
Program."
Their headquarters was located at the end of Staten Island on an
abandoned ferry. Their barnacled-covered boat was called "The Heat
Seeker."
Nick first met Godzilla's sibling when it hatched in a subway
tunnel and upon seeing Nick imprinted him as a parent. Nick and
secret agent Phillipe Roache had just killed the reptile's father
(Godzilla) after it wreaked havoc in the city of New York.
Nick's contact with the military is Major Hicks, Nick's former
associate who puts his faith in modern weaponry rather than Nick's
gigantic reptile.
TRIVIA NOTE: The Japanese translation of Godzilla is "Gojira" as
in the movie Gojira (1954).about a huge radioactive reptile
who destroyed Tokyo after waking from a few million years of
hibernation.
This film was later reedited with short scenes of actor Raymond
Burr as an American reporter and released as Godzilla, King of
the Monsters (1956).
The gimmick of people running through the streets of Tokyo and
shouting "Godzilla" has become a popular culture fixture. In 2002,
the gimmick was spoofed in the spy film Austin Powers: Gold
Member.
Godzilla is a trademark of the Toho Co. Ltd. of Japan.
Continued
> See Godzilla's Filmography
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