An approaching herd of menacing mutant crab creatures, poised and ready to attack can only mean one of two things – either your binge drinking is out of control or you just settled in for an evening of Japanese anime. Assuming it is the latter, (and you should seek help, if it is the former) you are probably bearing witness to Teknoman, a stellar animated series imported from Japan and first airing on UPN in 1995.

The year is 2087 and intergalactic war is running rampant. The Earth’s military, the Space Nights, are horribly mismatched against a race of evil spider crabs led by the villainous Venemoid warrior, Darkon, and they are losing the battle. What is needed in this situation is a miracle, which as it turned out, arrived in the form of a crash-landed space ship. Emerging from the wreckage was a mysterious man named Slade (or Blade, if you preferred the original Japanese version to the American import) complete with superhuman powers, an array of impressive quantum energy-driven weaponry, and a suit of impervious armor, all powered thanks to a strange and magical crystal in his possession. With these powers, he was transformed into a fierce warrior named Teknoman.

Armed with a dose of hope for the first time, the Space Nights and their new friend Teknoman took off in their spaceship, Blue Earth, ready to engage in battle with Darkon and his evil minions. Ringo Richards piloted the craft and also served as Slade/Tecnoman’s best buddy. The able crew included engineering staff, Mac and Maggie, and ship communications officer Maggie, all under the command of their albino leader, Commander Jamison.

As the show progressed, viewers learned a little back story on the mysterious Slade. At one time, he was merely Ness Carter (not to be confused with Nell Carter of Gimme’ a Break fame – two different creatures entirely.) His family’s spaceship had been overtaken by the Venemoids, who enslaved the family by mutating them into subservient “Teknomen.” While most ended up dead as a result of the transformation process, Ness was one of the few that survived. With his father’s assistance, he was able to break from his bonds and escape their evil clutches.

The Achilles Heel to Slade’s wondrous powers was that they only lasted for 30 minutes at a time, a fact that made him painfully aware of the fact that poor planning could mean his demise in the hands of the enemy. This personal interest in survival led him to keep somewhat of an emotional distance from his comrades, although he did let his guard down enough to fall in love with Blue Earth navigator, Star Summers.

Teknoman (originally called Tekkaman Blade in Japan) arrived at a time when American audiences were hungry for all things anime-related. The series ran for a year, with 49 episodes produced, and represented an example of the artform at its finest – perhaps the only genre where evil crab creatures trying to destroy a futuristic planet are seen as an entirely plausible concept.