(released as ''Star Fleet'' in the UK) is a Japanese

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

created by

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

artist

Go Nagai , better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...

, and produced by Cosmo Productions and Jin Productions. The show aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

from to , with a total of 25 episodes (including the pre-series pilot episode), and was billed in Japan as being filmed in "Sūpāmariorama" (スーパーマリオラマ), a puppeteering process similar to

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...

Supermarionation Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", " marionette" and "animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet T ...

works.

Background

This show can be considered somewhat of a cross between the work of

and Ken Ishikawa's ''

Getter Robo is a Japanese Mecha anime and manga, mecha media franchise created by Ken Ishikawa (manga artist), Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai. An anime television series produced by Toei Animation was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974, to May 8, 197 ...

'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''. As in ''Getter Robo'', the show's protagonists ride three vehicles that combine into a giant robot. Big Dai X, the robot in ''X-Bomber'', is more similar to the kind seen in the popular ''

Super Sentai The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...

'' series than a regular Nagai robot. The show's opening and ending theme songs ("Soldier in the Space" and "The Drifting Galaxy", respectively) were performed by the Japanese hard rock group Bow Wow, while Kazutaka Tazaki (of The Bach Revolution) and Nakayuki Sakuraba (of Adbaloon) provided additional music for the show. The puppets of ''X-Bomber'' were controlled from below the set using rods, and as a consequence were generally seen only from the waist up. Whereas Gerry Anderson's series were episodic in nature, ''X-Bomber'' had an overall story arc, with sub-plots and new characters being introduced as the series progressed, leading to a definite end. Similarly, rod puppets were used in

's 1967 series ''

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry Anderson, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films#Century 21, Centu ...

'' canned as "under-control" puppets due to their inability to walk-whereas everywhere else they were marionettes. Anderson would later use Rod puppets in ''

Terrahawks ''Terrahawks'' is a 1980s British science fiction television series created by Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr for London Weekend Television. The series was Anderson's first in over a decade to use puppets for its characters, and also his ...

''.

''Star Fleet''

''X-Bomber'' was dubbed by English speaking

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

s and renamed ''Star Fleet'' for broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. The show was broadcast there on Saturday mornings, first airing on , the day before ''

'' aired for the first time on British television. Due to its broadcast slot, the advertisements shown before, during and after each episode frequently included children's

Public Information Film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

s. The series was also broadcast as such on first-run syndication in the United States. Drawing heavily on diverse influences such as ''

'', Japanese

Anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

's various "

" series, the show ran for twenty-four half-hour episodes (twenty-five in Japan - the eighteenth episode, titled Bloody Mary's Promotion, was not included in the English version, as it consisted mainly of flashbacks). The English version's theme song was composed by Paul Bliss, and was later covered by

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

member

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

and

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

guitarist

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

. This was released under the name "

Star Fleet Project ''Star Fleet Project'' is a solo project of Brian May, Queen (band), Queen's guitarist, and a mini-album of the same name. Released as the work of Brian May + Friends, the album features May, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alan Gratzer (then ...

". The screenplay was adapted for English by Michael Sloan, who in later years would create the popular TV series '' The Master'' and ''

The Equalizer ''The Equalizer'' is an American vigilante action thriller multimedia franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. It originated with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989 starring Edward Woodward. The concept ...

''. Actress

Denise Bryer Denise Bryer (5 January 1928 – 16 October 2021) was an English actress, known for her voice roles on television and radio. Career Bryer was born 5 January 1928 in Kensington, London to Claude and Susie ( Mott) Bryer. Her father was a jewelle ...

("Commander Makara") and editor Tony Lenny both went on to collaborate with

and Christopher Burr making another memorable sci-fi series, ''

''.

Plot outline

The year is 2999 and the Earth is at peace following the Space Wars. The safety of the human race is ensured by Earth Defense Force (EDF). Shortly before the turn of the fourth millennium, the peace is broken by the appearance of a gigantic alien battle cruiser. Powerless to defend itself, the EDF's

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

base is completely destroyed and the evil Commander Makara reveals that the same fate awaits the Earth unless the mysterious F-Zero-One is handed over to her. Unaware of the nature of F-Zero-One and fearing retribution, the EDF presses into action an untested, incomplete weapon, codenamed ''X-Project'', from its hidden

moonbase A moonbase (or lunar base) is a human outpost on or below the surface of the Moon. More than a mere site of activity or temporary camp, moonbases are extraterrestrial bases, supporting uncrewed spaceflight, robotic or crewed spaceflight, human a ...

. The X-Project is revealed to be a powerfully-armed spacecraft named ''X-Bomber''. The series then follows the adventures of the crew of the X-Bomber, namely Doctor Benn, Shiro Hagen, Barry Hercules and John Lee who are joined by PPA, Lamia and her guardian Kirara. They set off to discover the nature of the F-Zero-One and try to protect it from the increasingly desperate Commander Makara and her menacing overlord, the ''Imperial Master''. Eventually it is revealed that Lamia herself is the mysterious F-Zero-One, a powerful alien destined to bring peace to the galaxy at the turn of the millennium. The series continues with Lamia gradually discovering her true nature and powers while the Imperial Alliance attempts to capture her and destroy the X-Bomber. The series climaxes with the X-Bomber crew destroying Commander Makara and Lamia finally confronting and defeating the Imperial Master and bringing peace to the universe.

Episodes

Some Episodes for the English version of the series were either renamed to fit the changes made or badly translated from the original titles. Although the episodes weren't officially named during the original series' run, the English DVD release confirms their titles.

Voice cast

The English cast list of ''Star Fleet'' was relatively small, with most voice actors doing the extra voices in the series as well. Credits were only made based on the main characters who appeared in the first episode, with the credits being reused each episode afterwards. As a result, Al Matthews was uncredited from his role later in the series. Three of the English-language voice actors (Benedict, Rolston and Matthews) would later appear in the 1986 sci-fi horror film '' Aliens''.

Crew

*Planned & Produced by Kimio Ikeda & Keisuke Fujikawa *Created by Gou Nagai *Serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's TV-Kun and Other Learning Magazines *Written by Keisuke Fujikawa *Music by Bow Wow, Kazutaka Tasaki & Nobuyuki Sakuraba *Theme Songs "Soldier in the Space" & "Galaxy Drifting" *Lyrics by Keisuke Fujikawa *Music Kyoji Yamamoto *Arranged by Bach Revolution *Performed by Bow Wow *Directed by Michio Mikami, Akira Takahashi, Kiyotaka Matsumoto & Noriyasu Ogami

Staff

*Camera Operator: Ryuji Kawasaki *Lighting Cameraman: Yoichi Takahashi *Production Designers: Akira Takahashi, Kyoko Heya & Shinichi Noro *Puppets Operator: Fumiaki Hayashi *Assistant Directors: Kiyotaka Matsumoto, Tetsuhiro Matori & Tadaaki Kozen *Audio Director: Sadayoshi Fujino *Scripter Girl: Yoshiko Hori *Editor: Yoshihiko Yamamoto (Araki Prod.)

Visual effects unit

*Directors of Visual Effects Kiyotaka Matsumoto & Yasumasa Abe *Director of Photography Yasumasa Abe *Lighting Masao Tsuchida *Art Director Minoru Ohashi *Practical Effects GIVS *Assistant Director Hitoshi Ueda *Compositing by Japan Visual Creation

Post production

*Sound Effects: Fizz Sound Creation *Co-Ordinator: Kunio Kuwahara *Recorded at: NEWJAPAN Studio *Audio Produced by: Omnibus Promotions *Assistant Producer: Masahide Baba *Production Manager: Fumio Takahashi *In Charge Of Production: Ikubun Cai *Film Processing: Tokyo Processing Offices *Produced by:

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

, Jin Productions & Cosmo Productions

English dubbing

*Executive Producer: Kevin Morrison *Produced & Directed by: Louis Elsman & Peter Marinker *Written by: Michael Sloan *Music: Paul Bliss *Co-Ordinator: Annie Wallbank *Assistant Producer: Nicola Thurgood *Supervising Editor: Tony Lenny *Dialogue Editor: Roy Taylor *Assistant Editing: Roy Helmrich & Bryan Tilling *Dialogue Synchronization: Maggie Dickie *Sound Recordist: Doug Hurring *Recorded at: Anvil Studios *Sound Effects: Theatre Three Productions & Cinesound Effects Library *Prints: Rank Film Laboratories *Titles: G.S.E. Ltd. *Produced by: Leah International & ITV 1 *Distributed by: Itoman And Company

French dubbing (1983)

*Presented by Intercine TV *Written by: Alain Gedovius *Music:

Shuki Levy Shuki Levy (; born June 3, 1947) is an Israeli-American music composer and television producer. Levy created soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s, such as ''The Real Ghostbusters'', ''Inspector Gadget'', ''The ...

and

Haim Saban Haim Saban (; ; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli and American media proprietor, investor, musical composer and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an ...

*French Version: MPS *Recorded at: Auditorium Ltc.

In comics

Two relatively unknown manga were also created in 1980. One was drawn by Naoki Kamohara and published in the magazine

Monthly Shōnen Jump was a shōnen manga magazine which was published monthly in Japan by Shueisha from 1970 to 2007 under the '' Jump'' line of magazines. It was the sister magazine to ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''. History The ''Monthly Shōnen Jump'' magazine star ...

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

from to and the other was drawn by Makoto Ono in the magazine TV-kun by

from to . British comic magazine ''

Look-In ''Look-in'' was a children's magazine centred on ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior '' TVTimes''". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.LaserDisc-box in 1993 and by

Pioneer LDC (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Tokyo ...

in a DVD-box set in . Both sets also contained one of two compilation movies created from ''Star Fleet'', in English with Japanese subtitles. Both sets have since gone out of print. On April 24, 2013,

Bandai Visual was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

released a Remastered DVD-Box of the series featuring enhanced and remastered scenes. In Bulgaria ''The Thalian Space Wars'' and ''Space Quest For F-01'' tapes were released by Multi Video Center with Bulgarian dub. In the US, eight video tapes were released which also contained compilations of the series' episodes, albeit in a less-drastically edited format. In the UK, only three ''Star Fleet'' video tapes were ever released. The first and rarest contained episodes 4 and 5 of the series. The other two were compilation movies entitled ''The Thalian Space Wars'' and ''Space Quest For F-01''. The series has not been repeated on UK television since the late 1980s. A DVD set of ''Star Fleet'' was released in the UK on by Fabulous Films.VD- Amazon.co.uk"> Included in the DVD set are all 24 episodes, remastered, and restored to their original UK broadcast format. Beyond the episodes, the set also includes stills and a double-sided poster, as well as a comicbook and a comprehensive 'making of' documentary, which includes contributions from series creator Go Nagai, Dr Benn voice artist Peter Marinker, Brian May, Paul Bliss and Gerry Anderson. Further to the DVD release, Paul Bliss' soundtrack has been released on CD and is available via mail order.

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

announced in June 2016 that they will release the dubbed series on DVD in the United States on December 20, 2016. It was later delayed for a February 2017 release. They later announced in January 2019 that they will release both that version and the original version on SD Blu-ray in the United States on March 26, 2019.

References

External links

*
SFXB: ''Star Fleet'' / ''X-Bomber'' HomepageF-Zero-One: ''Star Fleet'' / ''X-Bomber'' site ''Fabulous Films-the distributors'' site''X Bomber''
at allcinema

at the ''World of Go Nagai'' webpage * {{anime News Network, anime, 4635, Super Space Machine X Bomber 1980 Japanese television series debuts 1981 Japanese television series endings Robot superheroes Television series set in the 30th century Works set on spacecraft British English-language television shows Fuji Television original programming Go Nagai ITV children's television shows Shōnen manga Space adventure television series Super robot anime and manga Japanese television shows featuring puppetry Television series by ITV Studios Television series set in the future Tokusatsu television series