--OR, FUNNY, YOU DON'T LOOK KAIJU-ISH featured Special Guests Jett and KrOB in a lengthy night (6 hours) of narrating two (2) Japanese "Giant Monster" movies in Real Time. THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (Japanese: フランケンシュタインの怪獣 サンダ対ガイラ, Hepburn: FURANKENSHUTAIN NO KAIJU: SANDA TAI GAIRA, literally "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira") was directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya (the team that created the original GODZILLA [GOJIRA] and progeny). Referred by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV as a "quasi–sequel" to FRANKENSTEIN VS BARAGON, called in the U.S. FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD, this was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the third and final collaboration between Toho Co., Ltd. and low-rent quick-buck producer Henry G. Saperstein. Starring as the inevitable American was Russ "Tom Thumb" Tamblyn, joining an all-Japanese cast including the lovely Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara, with, in the monster suits, Yû Sekida as Sanda and Haruo Nakajima as Gaira. In the film, scientists investigate the sudden appearance of two giant, hairy quasi-human monsters that starts with an incongruous battle between a colossal octopus and a hirsute, greenish Cyclopean humanoid and culminates, as one would expect, in in a real estate-destroying free-for-all battle in beleaguered Tokyo. Actually, not Tamblyn, but none other than Tab Hunter was originally hired by Saperstein, in choosing to replace Nick Adams (from the previous Frankenstein film). However, Hunter was replaced by Tamblyn at some time during pre-production. A greater difficulty came when Honda's contract was not renewed, and the effects craftsman had to seek employment by speaking to Tanaka on a film-by-film basis. Honda, Saperstein, and chief assistant Seiji Tani noted that Tamblyn was difficult to work with. The cocky Tamblyn, the story goes, often did the exact opposite of Honda's instructions, improvising his lines at times without Honda's approval. Principal photography began in May 1966 and wrapped in June 1966, with effects work concluding in July, 1966. THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS was theatrically released in Japan on July 31st of that year, followed by a release in the United States on July 29, 1970 on a double feature with MONSTER ZERO. Since its appearance, the movie has come to be regarded in some quarters as a cult classic, drawing admiration from such enthusiasts as Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton. The song, "The Word gets Stuck in my Throat" became one often performed in the Seventies and Eighties stateside by Punk bands. Thanks are due and go out to the Reverend Angry Larry of Weirdsville Records, who unexpectedly mailed us the complete GARGANTUAS soundtrack on disc. Then, following our indulgence in Gargantuan exploits, we transferred our critical attentions to SHIN ULTRAMAN, the modern re-boot of the popular TV series about a giant robot-like figure who regularly wrestles with a plethora of improbable monsters. The evening's festivities, it must be noted, were psychedelically augmented by mushroom ingestion. The molecular structure of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in aptly named "magic mushrooms," allows it to penetrate the central nervous system and re-configure or "sort out" the brain. Poetry heard in this Ask Dr. Hal! episode included that of Clark Ashton Smith, Harry S. Robins and George Gordon, Lord Byron.