Godzilla (series)

Godzilla Air date September 9, 1978 - December 8, 1979 Producer(s) Doug Wildey Distributor Hanna-Barbera Channel(s) NBCUS Genre(s) Animation, adventure Episodes 26 Rate this series! 3.67 (24 votes)

“	Up from the depths, 30 stories high. Breathing fire, his head in the sky! Godzilla! Godzilla! Godzilla! And Godzooky! Godzilla!	„
	— Opening theme song

Godzilla (ゴジラ,   Gojira), often referred to as The Godzilla Power Hour due to the hour-long time slot the series used to hold in its initial airings and also known retroactively as Godzilla: The Animated Series or Godzilla: The Original Animated Series, was a Saturday morning animated series co-produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Toho, and Benedict Pictures Corp. The show centered around Godzilla, his cousin Godzooky, and a team of scientists who could call upon Godzilla to aid them as they contended with various malevolent monsters. Two seasons of 13 episodes each were produced, which NBC broadcasted in the United States from September 9, 1978 to December 8, 1979. Despite Toho's involvement, the series never aired on television in Japan.

Plot

The series follows the adventures of the crew of the research vessel Calico, headed by Captain Carl Majors. The rest of the crew includes Dr. Quinn Darian, her assistant and Carl's first mate Brock Borden, and Quinn's teenage nephew Pete. Also along for the ride is Godzilla's cousin Godzooky, who is Pete's best friend. Unlike his larger cousin, Godzooky can fly using the small wings under his arms. He is also unable to breathe fire, as whenever he tries he ends up coughing up smoke rings instead.

The Calico crew are able to call upon Godzilla using a special communicator known as the "Godzilla Signal" whenever they are in peril, usually due to attacks by other giant monsters. If the communicator is not present or is lost, Godzooky can summon Godzilla himself with a special call. Godzilla is depicted as a benevolent monster who is more than willing to assist and defend his cousin and his human companions, as well as other civilians who find themselves in harm's way during the rampages of other, more malevolent creatures. This version of Godzilla is light green in color (as often depicted on film posters, despite his actual onscreen coloration in said films being a charcoal gray) with dark green triangular dorsal fins which extend from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. He can breathe fire or shoot red laser beams from his eyes in place of his trademark blue atomic breath from the films. Likewise, Godzilla does not use his characteristic roar, but is instead voiced by actor Ted Cassidy. While his apparent size can shift radically between any given shot in the show, Godzilla is canonically said to stand 400 feet (~122 meters) tall, making him the tallest known incarnation of the character until the introduction of Godzilla Earth in GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters in 2017. However, with a given weight of only 600 metric tons, he is substantially lighter than most other versions of the character. All of Godzilla's enemies in the series are original creations for the show, as Hanna-Barbera did not acquire the rights to use any of Godzilla's existing monster co-stars.

Episodes

Season 1

1. "The Firebird" (September 9, 1978)
2. "The Eartheater" (September 16, 1978)
3. "Attack of the Stone Creature" (September 23, 1978)
4. "The Megavolt Monster" (September 30, 1978)
5. "The Seaweed Monster" (October 7, 1978)
6. "The Energy Beast" (October 14, 1978)
7. "The Colossus of Atlantis" (October 21, 1978)
8. "The Horror of Forgotten Island" (October 28, 1978)
9. "Island of Lost Ships" (November 4, 1978)
10. "The Magnetic Terror" (November 11, 1978)
11. "The Breeder Beast" (November 18, 1978)
12. "The Sub-Zero Terror" (November 25, 1978)
13. "The Time Dragons" (December 2, 1978)

Season 2

1. "Calico Clones" (September 15, 1979)
2. "Microgodzilla" (September 22, 1979)
3. "Ghost Ship" (September 29, 1979)
4. "The Beast of Storm Island" (October 6, 1979)
5. "The City in the Clouds" (October 13, 1979)
6. "The Cyborg Whale" (October 20, 1979)
7. "Valley of the Giants" (October 27, 1979)
8. "Moonlode" (November 3, 1979)
9. "The Golden Guardians" (November 10, 1979)
10. "The Macro-Beasts" (November 17, 1979)
11. "Pacific Peril" (November 24, 1979)
12. "Island of Doom" (December 1, 1979)
13. "The Deadly Asteroid" (December 8, 1979)

Specials

1. "Godzilla vs. Y2K Bug" (1999)

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

• Jeff David   as   Captain Carl Majors
• Al Eisenman   as   Pete
• Hilly Hicks   as   Brock Borden
• Brenda Thomson   as   Dr. Quinn Darian
• Ted Cassidy   as   Godzilla
• Don Messick   as   Godzooky

Appearances

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Monsters Godzilla Godzooky Firebird Firebird's eggs Eartheater Stone Creatures Megavolt Monsters Seaweed Monsters Energy Beast Colossus Cyclops Creature Space visitors (hieroglyphs) Chimera Minotaur Siren Sisters Morphea Minaton Kaidora Magnetic Monster Breeder Beast Great Watchuka Diplodocus Carnivorous Plant Smilodon (cave painting) Time Dragon Giant Squid Godzooky clone Giant Fly Giant Octopus Axor Power Dragon Cyborg Whale Giant Ants Giant Dragonfly Giant Black Widow Giant Beetle Giant Bees Giant Venus Flytrap Giant Antlion Gravity Goliath Golden Guardians Macro seahorses Macro jellyfish Macro crab Macro electric eel Macro sea turtle Macro manta ray Macro starfish Macro shark Macro swordfish Macro Squid Macro fish and sea life Magma Lizards Y2K Bug

Weapons, vehicles, and races Calico Hovercraft Bathysphere Godzilla Signal Mini-Copter Cryos

Broadcast history

Godzilla originally aired in these formats on NBC:

• The Godzilla Power Hour (September 8, 1978 - October 28, 1978)
• The Godzilla Super 90 (November 4, 1978 - September 1, 1979)
• Godzilla (September 8, 1979 - October 13, 1979)
• The Godzilla/Globetrotters Adventure Hour (October 20, 1979 - September 20, 1980)
• The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour (September 27, 1980 - November 15, 1980)
• The Godzilla/Hong Kong Phooey Hour (November 22, 1980 - May 16, 1981)
• Godzilla (May 23, 1981 - September 5, 1981)

Credits

• Executive Producers: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
• Producer: Doug Wildey
• Directors: Ray Patterson, Carl Urbano
• "Godzilla" was developed for television by: Dick Robbins, Duane Poole
• Creative Producer: Iwao Takamoto
• Story Editors: Dick Robbins, Duane Poole
• Story: Herb Armstrong, Don Heckman, Bob Johnson, Duane Poole, Dick Robbins, Sam Roeca, George Shea, Bob Stitzel, Tom Swale, David Villaire
• Story Direction: John Bruno, Moe Gollub, Jan Green, Paul Gruwell, John Zarr Haber, Rick Hoberg, Larry Huber, Mark Kirkland, Sherman Labby, Will Meugniot, Don Rico, Desmond Serratore, Dave Stevens, Bill Wary, Tom Yakutis
• Recording Director: Wally Burr
• Voices: Norman Alden, Marlene Aragon, Joe Baker, Michael Bell, Bill Bovett, Ted Cassidy, Jeff David, Virginia Eiler, Al Eisenman, Ron Feinberg, Joan Gerber, Hilly Hicks, Jane James, Casey Kasem, Ross Martin, Don Messick, Vic Perrin, Barney Phillips, Michael Road, Michael Rye, Brenda Thomson, Les Tremayne, B. J. Ward, Bill Woodson
• Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke
• Title Design: Bill Perez
• Musical Director: Hoyt Curtin
• Musical Supervisor: Paul DeKorte
• Character Design: Doug Wildey, George Wheeler, Fred Irvin
• Layout Supervision: John Ahern, Warren Marshall
• Key Layout: Larry Huber, Floyd Norman
• Layout: Cosmo Anzalotti, Lyle Beddes, John Bruno, Garnett Bugby, Todd Curtis, Sukhi Dail, Cory Dangerfield, Bob Foster, Hak Ficq, Drew Gentle, Simon Gittins, Moe Gollub, Charles Grosvenor, Paul Gruwell, Dave Hanan, Jack Huber, Mike Kawaguchi, Boyd Kirkland, Mark Kirkland, Brad Landreth, Jack Manning, Earl Martin, Jim Mueller, Dan Noonan, Mike O'Mara, Lew Ott, Mike Ploog, Gerrard Pointak, Debra Pugh, Tom Roth, Linda Rowley, Keith Sargent, Glenn Schmitz, Bart Seitz, Doyle Shaw, Peter Shelley, Roy Smith, Thomas Tholen, Greg Thurber, Toby, Grant Wilson
• Animation Supervision: Bill Keil, Jay Sarbry
• Assistant Animation Supervisor: Bob Goe
• Animation: Ed Aardal, Carlos Alfonso, Frank Andrina, Cliff Augustson, Ed Barge, Tom Barnes, Bob Bemiller, Oliver Callahan, Lars Calonius, Amaro Carretero, Rudy Cataldi, Roger Chiasson, Jesse Cosio, Doug Crane, Joan Drake, Marcia Fertig, Hugh Fraser, Al Gaivoto, Manuel Garcia Galiana, Mark Glamack, Fernando Gonzalez, Jeff Hall, Terry Harrison, Bob Hathcock, Fred Hellmich, Harry Holt, Angel Izquierdo, Volus Jones, Mario Julio, Rick Leon, Hicks Lokey, Ernesto Lopez, Roberto Marcano, Luis Martinez, Dan Mills, Pedro Mohedano, Ken Muse, Constantin Mustatea, Margaret Nichols, Eduardo Olivares, Margaret Parkes, Juan Pina, Bill Pratt, Tom Ray, Morey Reden, Veve Risto, Mitch Rochon, Vincente Rodriguez, Mariano Rueda, Mark Simon, Ken Southworth, Dave Tendlar, Dick Thompson, Richard Trueblood, Robert Tyler, Carlo Vinci, James Walker, John Walker, Ron Westlund
• Background Supervision: Al Gmuer
• Backgrounds: Deborah Akers, Dario Campanile, Dennis Durrell, Ann Guenther, James Hegedus, James Hickey, Paro Hozumi, Michael Humphries, Alison Julian, Bill Lorencz, Andy Phillipson, Jeff Richards, Jeff Riche, Sera Segal-Alsberg, Peter Van Elk, Dennis Venizelos
• Checking and Scene Planning: Cindy Smith
• Xerography: Star Wirth
• Ink and Paint Supervision: Billie Kerns
• Sound Direction: Richard Olson, Bill Getty
• Camera: George Epperson, Jerry Smith, Tom Epperson, Chuck Flekal, Ron Jackson, Larry Smith, Terry Smith, Brandy Whittington, Jerry Whittington
• Supervising Film Editor: Larry C. Cowan
• Dubbing Supervisor: Pat Foley
• Music Editors: Daniels McLean, Joe Sandusky
• Effects Editors: Ric Eisman, Patricia Peck
• Show Editor: Gil Iverson
• Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer
• Production Manager: Jayne Barbera
• Post Production Supervisor: Joed Eaton
• A Hanna-Barbera Production

The name and character of Godzilla in this picture are used by permission of and with the consent of Toho Co. Ltd.

© 1978 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., Toho Co. Ltd. and Benedict Pictures Corporation

The character Godzilla © 1978 Toho Co. Ltd. and Benedict Pictures Corporation

All material except the character Godzilla © 1978 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.

Gallery

• 

  The Godzilla Power Hour title card

• 

  Animation cell

• 

  Captain Carl Majors

• 

  Dr. Quinn Darian

• 

  Brock Borden

• 

  Pete Darian

• 

  A panel from Scooby-Doo Team-Up #43

Video releases

Classic Media DVDs (2006-07) [Godzilla: The Original Animated Series]

• Region: 1
• Audio: English
• Subtitles: Unknown
• Special features: None
• Notes: Released in three volumes containing one disc each. Volume 1 contains episodes 1-4, Volume 2 contains episodes 5-9, and Volume 3 contains episodes 10-13.

The second season of Godzilla has never been released on home video, although Cartoon Network recordings of all the episodes circulate on the gray market as bootlegs. The GODZILLA OFFICIAL by TOHO YouTube channel began uploading episodes of the series in order, with each episode broken into three videos, from August 9, 2021, to May 9, 2022. It added episodes from the show's second season from June 6, 2022, to February 27, 2023.

• 

  Godzilla: The Original Animated Series Volume 1 DVD cover

• 

  Godzilla: The Original Animated Series Volume 2 DVD cover

• 

  Godzilla: The Original Animated Series Volume 3 DVD cover

• 

  The Firebird and The Eartheater VHS cover

• 

  The Firebird VHS front and back cover

Videos

Opening theme Godzilla NBC bumper Godzilla Cartoon Network bumper Godzilla Cartoon Network Bumpers Godzilla vs. Y2K Bug Cartoon Network bumper Cartoon Network Europe bumper featuring Godzilla, Fred Flintstone, and Barney Rubble Trailer for the reairing of Godzilla's second season by GODZILLA OFFICIAL by TOHO

Trivia

• Rather than use Godzilla's trademark roar, Hanna-Barbera cast Ted Cassidy to record vocalizations for the character. He performed similar work for the live action TV series The Incredible Hulk, which began airing the same year. Strangely, several television bumpers from Cartoon Network which aired later did use the trademark roar from the Toho films.
• This show's basic premise, a team of humanitarian scientists traveling the globe and combating giant monsters while having the ability to summon Godzilla as an ally, is also featured in Godzilla: The Series, which aired two decades later.
• Godzilla and his daughter Baby Godzilla briefly appear at the end of the 1988 Hanna-Barbera film Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. Though unseen beyond a single giant foot, he has his traditional charcoal grey skin, in contrast to his green skin in Godzilla.
• The Hanna-Barbera version of Godzilla appeared as a weather reporter in segments of ToonFM: Live From Tokyo, an installment of the Toon:FM programming block that aired on Cartoon Network Europe. Toon:FM was a spin-off of the show JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show, which itself was a spin-off of the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo.
• DC Comics' Scooby-Doo Team-Up #43 (January 2017) mentions that the Hanna-Barbera superhero Frankenstein Jr. bested numerous creations of the Mad Inventor, showing Godzilla, the Eartheater, the Cyclops Creature, and a recolored version of the Time Dragon with flaps under its arms and pointed spikes on its back as examples.
• While the majority of Hanna-Barbera's properties were acquired by Warner Bros., Godzilla and all of the characters within it fell under the sole ownership of Toho once Warner's rights to the series expired in 2003. Toho has since licensed the first season of the series to Classic Media for DVD distribution in the United States, and even allowed companies such as Toy Vault and Mondo to create merchandise based on the series. It uploaded all 26 episodes from both seasons of the series onto its official English-language YouTube channel for the Godzilla franchise from 2021 to 2023.
• The trailer for Godzilla: Smash3, a mobile game tie-in for the 2014 American Godzilla film, features the text "Up from the depths," referencing the opening theme song for this show.

External links

• 2021 Kaiju Transmissions interview with writer, developer, and story editor Duane Poole

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla (series). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

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