Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Wonderland Records)
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Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a stereo LP phonograph record produced by Cinema Sound, Ltd. and released by Wonderland Records in 1977. It contained two original short audio dramas, entitled "Godzilla vs. the Alien Invasion" on the A side and "Godzilla vs. Amphibion" on the B side. Both stories are roughly 14 minutes long, written by uncredited authors, and are narrated and dramatized by uncredited actors. Its catalogue number for remote purchase is WLP 312.
The recording was re-released as an audio cassette in 1998 by Drive Entertainment with the addition of two remix tracks, both titled "Godzilla vs. Gomi." In this release, "Godzilla vs. the Alien Invasion" was titled "Godzilla vs. the Aliens." It was released on CD in 2001 with the original title.
Plot
"Godzilla vs. the Alien Invasion"
One night, after just passing through the locks from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan, the captain of a timber barge sees water bubbling in the middle of the lake. He and a sailor called Will watch as a gigantic lizard, at least 400 feet tall, arises from the water and begins heading for Wisconsin. They try to warn the mainland, but Will discovers their radio's vacuum tubes have all disintegrated, meaning that the creature is radioactive, and that they are a day's journey to the Wisconsin mainland. High above the western shore of Lake Michigan, 100 miles north of Chicago, an alien spacecraft led by Commander Brutom lands to plant their species' birth pods in the shallows, as they have done many times before. With their own planet, the "World of Constant Sun", being too hot to properly hatch the pods, they chose Earth to be their new breeding ground. They try to act quickly to avoid being spotted as they plan to reveal themselves only after their numbers are great enough to enslave the human race. Elsewhere, two young Chicagoans named Billy and Linda drive up from Milwaukee to Port Washington, Wisconsin, where their associate Dr. Scott claimed to have seen UFOs off Wisconsin's Lake Michigan coast three times in the past year, and the two plan to camp out in hopes of seeing some for themselves. The three aliens hurriedly finish leaving their birth pods, and plan to return soon to become Earth's conquerors. Billy and Linda arrive at that same spot just in time to see the sunrise, but quickly notice that the morning star is moving, making it a UFO. Billy insists they get closer to it to take better photographs as a radio DJ claims that they are experiencing the hottest spring Wisconsin has seen in over 50 years. Despite this, two of the alien birth pods begin to hatch, and 200-foot-tall slimy green string-bean-like aliens emerge from the lake, prompting Billy and Linda's retreat. As they try to flee in their van, Linda sees another monster arise from the lake, the prehistoric lizard Godzilla. Billy begins photographing the ensuing battle. After killing the two mutant alien infants, Godzilla begins heading south. Fearful that he might attack Chicago, the two try to rush back to warn the city.
Aboard the alien spacecraft, they receive word that two of their pods have malfunctioned due to the state entering its warm season earlier than predicted. They fear that the eggs may suffer mutation if they hatch under these conditions, and Brutom hatches a plan to meet with his war fleet and launch the invasion ahead of schedule. When Billy and Linda return to Dr. Scott, they show him the photographs and he reveals to the youngsters that they have found the missing two-legged pleiosaur Godzilla, who had been missing since his last sighting in the Atlantic Ocean. Scott theorizes that Godzilla came inland via the St. Lawrence seaway and traveled through the Great Lakes before reaching Lake Michigan, attracted by the UFO activity. He goes on to explain that Godzilla is an "ancestral Tyrannosaurus" who was irradiated in the Sea of Japan. He is fundamentally friendly and good-natured, but is too big to exist peacefully with humans. They resolve to warn Chicago about Godzilla in hopes that they do not fire on him out of fear and mistrust. With the aliens only minutes away, and confident in their ability to control the mutants, the colonel stationed in the Chicago area refuses not to attack Godzilla on the off-chance that he is not actually friendly. Godzilla arrives in the city, and is quickly followed by alien warships and twenty of the giant mutants. Air support from the U.S. military finally arrives, but the alien ships are much faster. Godzilla quickly kills the mutants, and Dr. Scott asks the colonel to spare at least one for study. With their attack force depleted, the aliens retreat. Billy, Linda, and Dr. Scott celebrate their victory, but acknowledge Godzilla's starring role in the planet's defense. It is suspected that the aliens may try to conquer other, kaiju-less planets instead.
"Godzilla vs. Amphibion"
While sailing in the Bermuda Triangle on a fishing trip, Mr. Bishop and his boat's captain spot a gigantic reptile doing battle with a sea creature, and opt to leave before they are noticed. They return to Miami, Florida, where the captain treats the unsettled Mr. Bishop to a drink at the Miami Marina Bar. There, Bishop insists they alert the authorities, but the captain understands that making claims like what they saw, particularly from within the Bermuda Triangle, are likely to get them ridiculed if not committed. At the same time they were at sea, Captain Rick Thompson was preparing to return to Patrick Air Force Base from a flight with his young son Tommy. The boy spots a disturbance in the water near a fishing boat, and the two see a giant fin come out of the water, and they try to get photographs. They take the pictures to their friend Captain Larry Jennings, a paleontologist, for study. Jennings recognizes one of the creatures as the pleiosaur Godzilla, whom he believed to have been killed by the Japanese many years prior. They present the photos to Colonel Radley, who is skeptical of their claims, and Thompson reveals that one of the men from a wrecked fishing boat from the same place and time has made similar claims and is now under surveillance, but his description of what he saw correlates to their photos. The colonel then gets a call ordering Thompson to lead a fleet of nuclear fighter jets to the Miami Beach area, after a commercial pilot reported a giant lizard chasing a finned beast with claws in the area. He is ordered to dispatch them with nuclear rockets after the people of Miami have been evacuated, but as the jet fires up, Jennings encourages him not to hurt Godzilla, whom he considers to be their best weapon against the finned creature, and supposes that he is trying to save Miami from it.
Two surfers on Miami Beach named Bill and Shorty are prepared to hit the waves before the storm comes in, despite Shorty's apprehensiveness. He spies something he thinks is a fin in the distance, but Bill disregards him. Shorty leaves the water, but Bill stays in and soon finds himself stranded on his board and beneath the looming form of Godzilla. Shorty tries to get help for him before he disappears under a giant fin. The 4th Infantry takes up position on the beach and tries to have it evacuated. Jennings and Tommy meet with Captain Wilson of the 4th Infantry, and watch as Godzilla and the sea creature come onto the beach. Getting their first look at the Amphibion, they see that it glows, has a pair of lobster-like claws, and a dorsal fin 100 feet high. The infantry opens fire on the monsters, but the shells have little effect. Jennings advises Wilson to concentrate their fire on Amphibion. In the skies, Thompson prepares his squad to bomb the monsters one at a time, but their rockets are equally useless. They then see Godzilla pick up Amphibion and try to break its neck before the fighter jets come back for a third pass. The artillery on the beach holds fire during the bombing run, and Tommy exclaims in joy as Godzilla wins his fight with Amphibion. Jennings supposes that it was a mutated amphibious creature, and he can only hope that no more exist. With the battle won, Godzilla begins to head back to sea, and Thompson opts not to bomb him.
Appearances
"Godzilla vs. the Alien Invasion"Monsters
Characters
Weapons, vehicles, and races
Locations
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"Godzilla vs. Amphibion"Monsters
Characters
Weapons, vehicles, and races
Locations
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Gallery
Audio cassette
CD cover
Videos
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Trivia
- Herb Trimpe's cover for Marvel Comics' Godzilla #1 is used for the cover case of this record.
- The incarnation of Godzilla featured in the audio stories is 400 feet tall, and is considered a "two-legged pleiosaur," which they explain to be an ancestor to Tyrannosaurus rex.
- The mutant aliens from the World of Constant Sun resemble giant string beans, are 200 feet tall, slimy, have red eyes, and green arms that shoot sparks.
External links
Comments
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