A Quick Look at TV: JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT

   In the mid-to-late 60's, Japan saw a boom of giant monster movies. Near every studio with the size to attempt it released their own giant monster epic to cash in on Toho's massive success in the science fiction adventure genre. The small screen was subject to this as well, as special effects icon Eiji Tsuburya branched into television with Ultra Q, and then the wildly successful Ultraman. Ultraman created a template that could be copied and other sci-fi superhero programs were short in coming. A handful of these even made it to the States, including Ultraman and The Space Giants. Possibly the most visible on our shores was Johnny Sokko And His Flying Robot. Basically presented as a live-action version of Gigantor pressed through the Ultraman mold, the series told of a small boy who becomes the controller of a giant robot. "Robot" was built to destroy mankind, but when our young Johnny became the first to address the machine through a control-box/microphone, a special and unbreakable bond was established. Robot and Johnny were recruited into the spy organization UNICORN, where they had all sorts of adventures while confronting the evil Emperor Guillotine from outer space! Guillotine would whip up a new giant monster each week, UNICORN would swing into action, and ultimately Robot would have to be called in to tussle with the monster. As these shows go, this one was fairly crude. It featured some of the most toy-like effects and props (with scale changing frequently, such as when Robot carried in his hand a single-man jet fighter being about the same size as a 200-crew submarine held in the other hand), but it did fire the imagination. Few shows so perfectly captured the aesthetic of a small boy playing with his toys. AIP-TV imported the series to good response. AIP-TV also edited the series into a feature film, VOYAGE INTO SPACE. This was further edited down into a popular 200' 8mm digest!