| Star Wolf | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Tsuburaya Productions |
| Based on | Starwolf by Edmond Hamilton |
| Developed by | Keiichi Abe (Star Wolf) Shukei Nagasaka (Space Hero Star Wolf) |
| Directed by | Kiyosumi Fukazawa |
| Starring | Tatsuya Azuma Jô Shishido Miyuki Tanigawa |
| Composer | Norio Maeda |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (per episode) |
| Production companies | Tsuburaya Productions Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation |
| Original release | |
| Network | NNS (YTV) |
| Release | April 2 (1978-04-02) – September 24, 1978 (1978-09-24) |
Star Wolf (Japanese: スターウルフ, Hepburn: Sutā Urufu) is a Japanese science fiction TV series inspired by the novel series of the same name, by American writer Edmond Hamilton. It was produced in 1978 by Tsuburaya Productions.
Series concept
The show is loosely based on the three books in the Star Wolf series by American science fiction novelist Edmond Hamilton: The Weapon from Beyond (published in 1967), The Closed Worlds and World of the Starwolves (both published in 1968). The name of the main character, an Earthman who was raised on the high gravity planet Varna and developed super-human strength and reflexes, was changed from Morgan Chane to Ken Shinsei. Starting with episode 14, the series was retitled Space Hero Star Wolf (宇宙の勇者 スターウルフ Uchû no Yûsha Sutâurufu).
American adaptation
The Japanese series was edited into two feature-length films for American television under the titles Fugitive Alien and Star Force: Fugitive Alien II. They were released directly to television by King Features Entertainment, the first film in 1986, running for 102 minutes, and the sequel in 1987, running for 98 minutes. Both films were featured on Season 3 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Fugitive Alien in episode 10, first shown on August 17, 1991, and Star Force: Fugitive Alien II in episode 18, first shown on November 16, 1991. Of note, both movies had also featured in the early KTMA era of MST3K, appearing out of order in episodes K12 and K03 respectively, before being revamped for the Comedy Channel era.
Cast
Source:
- Tatsuya Azuma, Joe Shishido, Miyuki Tanigawa, Chôei Takahashi, Tsutomu Yukawa, Hiro Tateyama, Akihiko Hirata
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wolf | ||||||||||||
| 1 | (Japanese: さすらいのスターウルフ) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Keiichi Abe | April 2, 1978 (1978-04-02) | ||||||||
| 2 | (Japanese: 銀河を駆けろ! バッカスIII世) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Bunzo Wakatsuki | April 9, 1978 (1978-04-09) | ||||||||
| 3 | (Japanese: 今 果てしない宇宙へ) | Minoru Kanaya | Hiroyasu Yamaura | April 16, 1978 (1978-04-16) | ||||||||
| 4 | (Japanese: 恐怖の恒星間航行) | Minoru Kanaya | Yoshihisa Araki | April 23, 1978 (1978-04-23) | ||||||||
| 5 | (Japanese: スーパーウェポンの秘密) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Keiichi Abe | April 30, 1978 (1978-04-30) | ||||||||
| 6 | (Japanese: 危険な宇宙案内人) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Bunzo Wakatsuki | May 7, 1978 (1978-05-07) | ||||||||
| 7 | (Japanese: 愛と憎しみの宇宙) | Minoru Kanaya | Hiroyasu Yamaura | May 14, 1978 (1978-05-14) | ||||||||
| 8 | (Japanese: 死を呼ぶブラックホール) | Minoru Kanaya | Hiroyasu Yamaura | May 21, 1978 (1978-05-21) | ||||||||
| 9 | (Japanese: 熱と光の宇宙ページェント) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Bunzo Wakatsuki | May 28, 1978 (1978-05-28) | ||||||||
| 10 | (Japanese: 宇宙を燃やす大激戦) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Yoshihisa Araki | June 4, 1978 (1978-06-04) | ||||||||
| 11 | (Japanese: 未知の星の地雷原) | Minoru Kanaya | Keiichi Abe | June 11, 1978 (1978-06-11) | ||||||||
| 12 | (Japanese: 惑星ミサイルに賭けた命) | Minoru Kanaya | Bunzo Wakatsuki | June 18, 1978 (1978-06-18) | ||||||||
| 13 | (Japanese: 大爆発0秒前) | Minoru Kanaya | Yoshihisa Araki | June 25, 1978 (1978-06-25) | ||||||||
| Space Hero Star Wolf | ||||||||||||
| 14 | (Japanese: 宇宙に浮ぶ黒い竜) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Shukei Nagasaka | July 2, 1978 (1978-07-02) | ||||||||
| 15 | (Japanese: いん石群へ恐怖の突入) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Shukei Nagasaka | July 9, 1978 (1978-07-09) | ||||||||
| 16 | (Japanese: 二つの顔のサイモナイト) | Minoru Kanaya | Shukei Nagasaka | July 16, 1978 (1978-07-16) | ||||||||
| 17 | (Japanese: いざ! 黒い星の決戦) | Minoru Kanaya | Shukei Nagasaka | July 30, 1978 (1978-07-30) | ||||||||
| 18 | (Japanese: パニック! 空気を盗まれた惑星) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Bunzo Wakatsuki | August 6, 1978 (1978-08-06) | ||||||||
| 19 | (Japanese: ケンを狙う赤い流星) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Bunzo Wakatsuki | August 13, 1978 (1978-08-13) | ||||||||
| 20 | (Japanese: 純金ロボットGC301) | Minoru Kanaya | Shukei Nagasaka | August 20, 1978 (1978-08-20) | ||||||||
| 21 | (Japanese: 悲劇の宇宙恐竜ニポポ) | Minoru Kanaya | Shukei Nagasaka | September 3, 1978 (1978-09-03) | ||||||||
| 22 | (Japanese: 灼熱地獄 地底人を救え!) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Hiroyasu Yamaura | September 10, 1978 (1978-09-10) | ||||||||
| 23 | (Japanese: 謎の惑星半獣人) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Toyohiro Ando | September 17, 1978 (1978-09-17) | ||||||||
| 24 | (Japanese: 大宇宙 宿命の対決!) | Kiyosumi Fukazawa | Shukei Nagasaka | September 24, 1978 (1978-09-24) | ||||||||
References
Footnotes
- The Weapon From Beyond summary on Fantasticfiction.co.uk
- The Closed Worlds summary on Fantasticfiction.co.uk
- World of the Starwolves summary on Fantasticfiction.co.uk
- ^ Galbraith IV 1996, p. 173.
- "Season 3 Episode Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
Sources
- Galbraith IV, Stuart (1996). The Japanese Filmography: 1900 through 1994. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0032-3.
External links
- Sutâurufu (Star Wolf), the original series at IMDb
- Fugitive Alien at IMDb
- Star Force: Fugitive Alien II at IMDb
- Japanese Misplaced Pages page relating to both the Edmond Hamilton series of books and the Japanese TV Series
- (in Japanese) Five-minute preview of the first episode of Star Wolf on Veoh (video)
- Star Wolf opening sequence on Dailymotion (video)
- 1978 Japanese television series debuts
- 1978 Japanese television series endings
- Japanese science fiction television series
- Space adventure television series
- Tokusatsu television series
- Tsuburaya Productions
- Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming
- Television shows based on American novels
- Mystery Science Theater 3000