La battaglia dei pianeti

To all of those who were not even born during its debut in the United States(1978): This cartoon first went on the air in Japan in 1974 under the title "Gatchaman." It was the first cartoon to depict a super powered team. As a matter of fact, it inspired many super team action shows animated or live in Japan. "battle of the planets is the imported version for the American audience in 1978. Although not as violent as the Japanese version, the musical score is fabulous, the continuing storyline is decent, and the voice over acting is good. The animation additions of seven zark seven and one rover one are the only weak points in the scripts.

This is classic animation at its best. Compared to todays animation its antiquated. But back in 1978 it was classic. Made in the same Japanese Animation style that brought Speed Racer, its classic and one of the best shows. I miss it and hope that its either released on DVD or re released soon. Bless you internet.

This was the best cartoon I saw as a child. Alas, with no videos or reruns the chances of anyone seeing it now are rare to say the least. It was edited down from the Japanese anime "Gatchaman" for US kids. While it lost a lot of the storyline and violence it was gifted with one the best theme tunes. While the 1990's remake of Gatchaman is available to buy, it is of nowhere near the quality of the original Gatchaman or Battle of the Planets, lacking the character and incidental score that graced the originals. Looks like Battle of the Planets will just have to live in the fond memories of the millions of school kids that it touched.

Having run madly around the school playground as a member of G-Force, I have fond memories of this series. I was lucky enough to discover some UK re-runs recently and I must say it doesn't disappoint. This had to be one of the most bizarre cartoon series ever. Sub-anime cartoon action, with a core of good Vs evil morality and a strange taste in feathery superhero costumes.

Basically, our five brave orphan heroes spend their day chilling and waiting to be called into action - when they are, it's off in the Phoenix zap about and save our galaxy from another lacklustre take-over attempt by Spectra - embodied be the Evil Zoltar.

Intros from soothing robot narrator 7-Zark-7 (and his robot dog 1-Rover-1) push the plots along, and somehow our heroes save the day by flying about a bit, throwing some banter about and coaxing this weeks traitor back to the good guys before wherever they are explodes. Zoltar then promptly escapes to pester the good peoples of Earth and her colonies another day.

You will not find a better example of 70's haircuts, camp villains, naff plots and creaky cold-war style American morality. It's a winner!

A few things to treasure... One: All the computers still work on ticker-tape in the future... fantastic! Two: Camp bad-guy Zoltar not only had all the best lines, but some of the most fulsome lips in the cartoon universe. Three: Possibly the most melodramatic opening spiel in tevevision history (even beats the A-team!) Four: 7-Zark-7's ongoing romance with 'Susan' the sexy computer voice that delivered the mission at the start of the show.

In the UK, you can catch 'Battle of the Planets' on Bravo, usually in the dead of night. On reflection, perhaps this is a good thing - the children of today might not be able to handle the sheer drama and tension.

And yes, I did have a crush on Princess. And I still do.

Battle of the Planets surely is the best cartoon series ever made. With it's hauntingly brilliant theme tune, terrific animation and superb story lines, this cartoon had it all. Originally taken from a 70's Japanese cartoon called Gatchaman, Battle of the Planets ran for an incredible 85 episodes. Who remembers these immortal words "Battle of the Planets, G-Force, 5 incredible young people with superpowers. And watching over them from Center Neptune, 7-Zark-7. Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies from beyond space. G-Force, fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy, always by acting as one. Dedicated, inseparable, Invincible!" Great stuff. UK Sky Digital viewers check out the Bravo channel for regular repeats of this great show.