is a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

TV series inspired by the novel series of the same name, by American writer

Edmond Hamilton Edmond Moore Hamilton (October 21, 1904 – February 1, 1977) was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century. Early life Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. So ...

. It was produced in 1978 by

Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producin ...

Series concept

The show is loosely based on the three books in the ''Star Wolf'' series by American

novelist

: ''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 King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

, 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 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'', ''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 WUCW (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of The CW. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios in the Pence Building on 8th S ...

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 was a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheekbones. He appeared in some 300 films but is best known in the West for his performance in the cult film '' Branded to Kill'' ...

, Miyuki Tanigawa, Chôei Takahashi,

Tsutomu Yukawa Tsutomu Yukawa (; 1911–1942) was a Japanese aikidoka. Born in Gobo in Wakayama prefecture, Yukawa began his martial arts training in judo, studying under Tesshin Hoshi. In 1931 he travelled to Tokyo to study at the Kodokan, but whilst in the city ...

, Hiro Tateyama,

Akihiko Hirata (December 16, 1927 – July 25, 1984), born , was a Japanese film actor. While Hirata starred in many movies (including Hiroshi Inagaki's ''Samurai'' trilogy), he is most well known for his work in the '' kaiju'' genre, including such films as ' ...

Episodes

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* * * * Japanese Wikipedia page relating to both the Edmond Hamilton series of books and the Japanese TV Series *
Five-minute preview of the first episode of Star Wolf on Veoh
(video)
Star Wolf opening sequence on Dailymotion
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Star Wolf (Tv Series) 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