A Gigantis By Any Other Name Still Fells a Street: "Godzilla Raids Again"- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- don't be fooled by that alias of “Gigantis”- you know it’s really that same familiar giant reptile, back for a second attempt at reducing property values in Japan- as he faces off with another monstrous creature, then begins to decimate the streets , putting citizens in jeopardy once again-  as “Godzilla Raids Again”!

A couple of  pilots, two close friends, work for a cannery, spotting  schools of fish  from above , and notifying the fishing fleets of their locations. One of the pilots has engine trouble, and must land on a distant island. His best friend immediately sets out to look for him- and, while he finds his pal, they both find something unexpected - two gigantic behemoths, battling each other! As they fight, they topple into the ocean- allowing the pilots to make their escape and head homeward.

They return to Osaka, alerting the  authorities about the creatures they encountered. After combing through pictures  and documents,  the men think they've found  the same creatures- and scientists determine that the monsters  are known to them as Anguirus and Godzilla (or, actually, Gigantis). Dr. Yemane, the eminent scholar who we met in the original Godzilla film, uses his expert knowledge to give them the full history of Godzilla, and takes pains to explain that this is ANOTHER "Godzilla"- that term referring to a certain species of giant reptile (and  an easy way to explain why we  still have  Godzilla around after he was turned to a skeleton by the oxygen depleter in the first film!) That weapon  was lost to the ages when its creator destroyed his notes, and used the only existing version of it to kill the original King of the Monsters (as he killed  himself), so a new plan for defense is necessary.That plan- use  off-shore flares to distract Godzilla and keep him  a good distance away from the  land.

The monster approaches Osaka, and the plan goes into effect- with  a planned black-out of the city- and the flares out at sea. It seems to be working- until a freak accident causes a huge , brightly burning fire on shore, attracting the monster's attention! Just as he hits land, his old enemy Anguirus appears as well- and they resume their battle, causing horrible destruction.

Once the monster is gone, the brave citizens take on the task of rebuilding. Due to the destruction, the cannery is being re-situated to Hokkaido- and the two pilot buddies rejoin the team there. Naturally, Godzilla shows up there as well- and, once again, man must find a way to defeat this massive rampaging reptile!

This 1955 sequel to the original Godzilla movie  was thrown together quickly to capitalize on the success of the original- and was known for a long time as “Gigantis the Fire Monster”  ( again, trying to make sense of the monster being there after its supposed demise)-until the 1980s, when Toho Studios decided it should be re-titled with the Godzilla name (to keep it in the Godzilla canon) for its home video release in the ’80s. We’ll go over the movie's history, introduce the cast, and point out some very famous voices who took part in the English language dubbing. Plus- we'll present a product tied to the story- and bring you a Sven- song!

“Godzilla Raids Again” tonight on MeTV , starting at at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check local listings,or at www.metv.com, to find out when and where it shows up in your neck of the woods.  If you watch us in the L.A. area, check for the new station now providing  MeTV! Chicago area viewers can catch up on the original "Godzilla - King of the Monsters" with the 11 am showing on WCIU, the U.

There is a new addition to the Svengoolie exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications- the original electric organ that Doug Graves was seated at for many years on the show.  Lots more to see there, too!

Join us tonight for the second part of our Gigantic January with- "Gigantis"! Sure to be designated 100% free of any Raymond Burr!