User reviews

The Planet of the Apes movies interested me very much as a young child. I was (and still am) very into the monster/sci-fi genre.

When this series came out, my friends and I would always be tuned in. In the special "Behind the Planet of the Apes" it references this series as being 13 shows long. It also mentions that the show was up against 2 very popular TV sitcoms at the time, Sanford & Son and Chico & the Man. I wasn't a fan of either of these other shows so I guess I was in the minority in watching "Apes".

I remember commenting back around that time that the Planet of the Apes TV series looked like Starsky and Hutch vs the apes and I still feel that way when I see clips of the old ape TV show. The 2 human stars bear an uncanny resemblance to the 2 stars of the popular 70s TV cop show (which came out in 1975). There was much merchandising back then, and we collected ape trading cards and ape dolls. I also had the ape model kits. I remember getting a few of the dolls for Christmas but the "ape house" set that came with it was too expensive and a neighbor kid had got that so we 'combined' the items for play.

In 1981 the ape TV shows were combined and renamed "Return to the Planet of the Apes" among other titles.

The Apes saga spawned this short-lived TV series as the movies ran out of steam (following the 5th film in '73): this follows 2 astronauts (Harper & Naughton - a 3rd man died on impact) whose spaceship crashes on Earth of the future (a little over a thousand years from now, in year 3085): humans in this time period are 2nd-class citizens, ruled by apes (Orangutans, Gorillas, and Chimps). There is little or no technology, and the 2 visitors are on the run with new friend chimp Galen (McDowall) from the forces of orangutan politico Zaius (Colman) and General Urko (Lenard), a bad-tempered gorilla. Running around a wilderness area, their travails took on a 'running around in circles' tempo, since they never strayed far from their main nemesis. Much of the action involved the astronauts being chased by gorillas on horseback or fighting them with judo & karate moves. The heroes' ultimate fates were never revealed. Of interest to viewers from the Bay Area in California, since this is where the action took place (one episode, for example, took place in the ruins of Oakland - pretty good set design for a TV series).

The logistics of the series makes sense in so far as it logically occurs about 900 years before the events of the first 2 Apes films: humans here have not yet devolved to unspeaking brutes, being merely a docile but still intelligent servant class. However, this does contradict the events of the final 3 films, which does point to those as the creation of an alternate timeline: most familiar with the saga point out the dog in the very 1st episode (dogs were wiped out between the 3rd and 4th films); also, the astronauts find a book showing an advanced New York City from year 2503, which means, in this version of the saga, Apes took over around the 27th or 28th century whereas, in the 5th film, mankind had fallen by our time (early 21st century). Big difference. There's also a brief mention, in the first episode, of other astronauts who'd bedeviled Zaius 10 years earlier, but we never learn anything about them, except that they'd been killed.

The stories themselves were often parables, commenting on certain social strictures from our own history, involving a persecution of a lower class; one episode had allusions to the Ku Klux Klan activities of a century past, with apes in hoods. A better early episode was "The Trap," where Urko and one of the astronauts get trapped together in an old ruin by an earthquake; Urko soon learns of his true heritage and that these humans are much more resourceful than he dreamed. Indeed, the two astronauts usually showed an advanced proficiency in all areas compared to this ape culture, even in such endeavors as farming. McDowall played his 3rd chimp character here, similar to his Cornelius and Caesar, but a little on the wild side. Lenard, better known for his Sarek character in the Star Trek TV shows and movies, probably did the best work here as the violence-prone but intelligent gorilla military leader.

The Planet of the Apes TV series is often unfairly criticised (as are the four film sequels) for falling far short of the epoch-making original movie.

However, there is much to be enjoyed for PotA devotees and the less committed alike. The three leading characters of Galen, Virdon and Burke are all instantly likeable and well acted, Mark Lenard is superb as their pursuer Urko, who is second as a Gorilla commander only to James Gregory's peerless performance as Ursus in "Beneath") and Booth Colman evokes Maurice Evans as Zauis (although this Zauis cannot be the same ape as played by Evans in the first two films). Many fine and memorable guest roles throughout and interesting - if slightly repetitive - storylines add up to a satisfying series.

The only downside is the somewhat corny dialogue - especially certain lines spoken by Burke - which rob a number of scenes of their effectiveness.

The series is kind of like Starsky and Hutch meets Planet of the Apes. Two astronauts end up on earth in the future (I hope this does not count as a spoiler) and befriend a chimpanzee. One of the astronauts is the young wise cracking guy, the other one the more serious and considerate older guy. This means of course that the overall feeling of doom which the films had is not really present here. The sets are quite decent as is the make up which is of course because they used sets and props from the films. Overall, it's actually fairly entertaining and well made, certainly much better than the last two installments of the film franchise. However, there is a limit as to how far you can stretch the underlying storyline and therefore it tends to be a bit repetitive. There is only so much you can do with one idea. But by and large it's well made entertainment, worth watching.

While it may have been better suited to Saturday mornings, PLANET OF THE APES had its merits: the performances weren't bad; the sets were out of this world (wink, wink, nudge, nudge); and the makeup was absolutely FANTASTIC. As with most television (Past and Present), the greatest weakness lay in the writing (hence, my assertion that the show would've been better suited to the Saturday morning lineup). The basic concept was viable, but the overall approach gave it that "made-for-the-kiddies" throwaway feel. Just recently, I happened across a Titan book, PLANET OF THE APES: EVOLUTION OF THE LEGEND by Jeff Bond and Joe Fordham, that singlehandedly helped rekindle my obsession with all things Ape: it's a massive, beautifully done look at the series from original conception to the most recent movies, and it reminded me of just how much I love the original movies (which remain, for me, the Pinnacle of Fantasy Filmmaking); there are scores of color shots I've never seen before, many of them full page and begging to be framed. If you're an Apes fan, it's a must-have.

It changed the face of television forever. Based on the enormously popular and successful Planet of the Apes movie, the 1974 TV series has become a true cult classic. Now all 14 episodes (including "The Liberator," which never aired during the show's original run) have been compiled and are available to own for the first time.

After their spacecraft travels through a time warp, two astronauts (Ron Harper, James Naughton) from 1981 crash-land back on Earth in the year 3085-a time when intelligent apes rule and humans have been reduced to servants or pets. Captured by the apes and sentenced to death, they are saved by a curious chimpanzee named Galen (Roddy McDowall). But now all three are on the run, trying to keep one step ahead of the gorilla army led by General Urko (Mark Lenard), who is determined to kill the renegades.

The very popular film "Planet of the Aoes", (1968) was adapted to a television series format by Anthony Wilson in 1974. Under the executive leadership of Howard Dimsdale, more than a dozen episodes were produced. The show was canceled before its producers had completed a season's worth of episodes; it has since become one of the most-highly-regarded of all one-hour television series, sci-fi or otherwise. I suggest this is because all but one of the original series' episodes, which was rather good, are even better-than-good. The idea level of the scripts, the actors employed and the story-lines were all quite unusually strong. The premise of the series as developed involved three astronauts on a mission to Earth's nearest stellar neighbor Alpha Centauri. Encountering an anomaly in space, their chronometers told them when they awakened that they had arrived in the year 3085; the planet they found themselves arriving upon was a vastly-changed Earth. One of their number was dead, but the others, played by Ron Harper and James Naughton, were captured by the rulers of the strange future civilization--apes. In that society, orangutans were administrators, chimpanzees scientists and gorillas the police and armed forces, all intelligent species who kept humans as slaves. After they had been assigned to the care of Dr. Zaius and his assistant Galen, it was Galen who discovered that other astronauts had found the new world; Galen and Zaius opposed General Urko's attempts to do away with the pair. And when Galen killed one of their guards accidentally, who was to execute the pair for having tried to escape, the three had to flee, and search for two things--the other astronauts who might still be on that strange world, and some way to try to reverse the time effect and get home.. This brilliant series was directed by such TV veterans as Alf Kjellin, Ralph Senensky, Bernard McEveety, John Meredyth Lucas, Arnold Laven, Jack Starrett and Don Weis. Writers for the series included Howard Dimsdale, Walter Black, Robert Hamner of "Star Trek" fame, Arthur Browne Jr., Edward J. Lakso, Robert W. Lenski, David P. Lewis, actor Booker T. Bradshaw, Art Wallace, S. Bar-David, Barry Oringer, Joe Ruby, Richard Collins, Anthony Lawrnece, and Ken Spears. Among the continuing cast, Mark Lenard was towering and powerful as General Urko; Roddy Macdowall and James Naughton, noted supporting actors, were very fine as Galen and astronaut Pete Burke. Booth Coleman, a classically-trained actor, brought Dr. Zaius to life; Ron Harper was very touching as astronaut Alan Virdon except for his lack of a classical accent. The show's theme was written by Lalo Schiffrin, with music composed by Earle Hagen and Richard LaSalle. "Star Trek" cinematographer Gerald Finnerman provided the lucid work for this series; the complex art direction for a strange civilization was the work of Arch Bacon; Stuart A. Reiss did the imaginative sets, and a team of makeup experts headed by Al Schultz and Dan Striepke did the complex ape makeup and more. Every week, guest stars were employed to play human serfs and apes; the list included Percy Rodrigues, Normal Alden, John Ireland, Zina Bethune, William Smith, Joanna Barnes, Sondra Locke, John Milford, Mikel Conrad, Joseph Ruskin, Beveryly Garland, Anne Seymour, Richard Devon, John Hoyt, Jane Actman, Jacqueline Scott, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jay Robinson, Lonny Chapman, Jerome Thor, Woodrow Parfey, Morgan Woodward and Royal Dano. This was a very fine production, with many values worthy of a feature film; a true collector's item.

I was twelve years old when PLANET OF THE APES premiered on CBS television. And being 1974 it was a decent production, and it had the same flavor as the films, which 3 of them had played out on CBS the season before. So, by this time I was an avid POTA fan, and was happy to see it as a weekly series. I was not disappointed at all. it was a good (maybe not great) series. Roddy McDowall appears as Galen (similar to the films Cornelius.) Too bad it didn't last on TV. I do remember thinking that it was unfortunate that Roddy McDowall didn't play Cornelius, and Kim Hunter would have been great in the series if she had re-prised her role of Zira. And I'm sure Maurice Evans would have made a better Dr. Zaius.

This is a good idea to a t.v. series based on the planet of the apes.However to release a t.v. show after 5 consecutive films was like having thanksgiving every day. I Ihink it would worked if they did this instead of the sequels. with Jmaes Francescus and Linda Harrison as the astronauts and Of course Roddy McDowall. What works in this series was how they talked about racism . bigotry. what did not work in this Eries WA show it repeats itself. in one episode a blind ape falls for Pete in another a blind human falls for Alan. then in a episode Galen rescue his astronaut friends wearing a mask and gun, he does the same exact thing in another. Twice in the series the galen,Pete. Alan, escape the gorilla"s by a leaving in a raft in the water.I wish they tried More stories with the computer chip and lost computer.

Planet of the Apes was a pretty good show. I have seen a few episodes and for the most part I liked it. I think the plot works and the acting is good. I think that it works that there are two guys stranded on the planet rather than one. Roddy Mcdowell being in the series really helps A LOT. He is a great underrated actor and was key to the Planet of the Apes series. So him being a character in this series is awesome. WIthout him I really do not think this show would have been as good. Often when a film tries to become a television series they do not bring along one of the key actors from that film but in this case they do. So this is a pretty good show, it only lasted one season, and it is definitely worth watching.

This TV series of "Planet of the Apes" wouldn't be quite the same without Roddy McDowall. After all, he is the one who is the common link regarding the original films. The series was better than I expected. The first 4 episodes are very good and they get the proceedings off to a promising start. Sadly, the remainder of the show includes episodes which are difficult to follow or that ones that are boring in their story. Naturally, the budget was bound to be fairly low but the production staff did a good job with what they had. It is a shame that only 14 episodes were made, because the overall story arc hadn't been concluded. The American TV networks didn't seem to have much faith in the show, given the late night time slot it was given.

I have just returned from the Chiller Theatre Convention in NJ (April 25, 2004), where my children and I met in person with Ron Harper who played Alan Virdon in the "Planet of the Apes" television series. We encountered a genuinely "good guy", much like the noble character he played on the "Planet of the Apes" television series. The meeting made a favorable impression upon my children -- Mr. Harper's autograph is already framed and hanging on their wall.

I enjoyed the "Planet of the Apes" television series as a child when it first aired in 1974, so I was intrigued to watch it again on DVD with my children. After watching the DVDs, I can report that I still enjoy the show. It is a shame that the series only ran for 14 episodes. Perhaps if Galen, Burke, and Virdon had been renewed for another season, the story lines would have broken-free from "The Fugitive"-type theme that dominated its (much too short) run? Even so, some of the episodes were of high quality, and, in my opinion, were actually as good as (if not better than) my two least favorite of the full-length "Planet of The Apes" motion pictures: "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" and "Battle for the Planet of the Apes". In particular, the episodes of the television series which took place within devastated city ruins standout in my mind as quite excellent television productions. I suggest that a single "Best of" DVD be released containing four of the better episodes for those fans who will find the $40 to $50 price tag for the Complete Series too steep.

Some have questioned the logical inconsistencies in the television series. They note that some things that happen in the television series contradict things that happened in the films. One problem with their arguments -- with the introduction of time travel, the notion that history can be altered repeatedly by those who travel through time is introduced. Thus, the appearance of a dog in 3085 (the year depicted in the television series) does not contradict the claim made in "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" that all cats and dogs were killed-off in the late-20th Century. Theoretically, a future time traveler might have traveled back in time and caused an event that saved dogs from annihilation. Also, it is conceivable that dogs were re-introduced into society somewhere between the late-20th Century and 3085, as scientific advancements in genetics made it possible. So, there is little merit to the argument that some events depicted in the television series don't jibe with events depicted in the films.

I feel that this television series very competently portrayed a believable ape-dominated world of the future. I recommend this box set, but with a caveat -- take your time getting through the 14 episodes, as the underlying "fugitive-on-the-run" theme can get monotonous if you watch all the episodes one-after-another.

One of the best spectacular television series never created: it is shown among other things how the monkeys value constantly and between them, to the detriment of the human being who must be so possible made feel guilty, humbled, as well as discriminated in the slightest tasks (and who anyway has to make way as possible) more the values are inverted, for the monkey any individualism or heroism of the man is systematically considered as a perversion. This one has moreover only the minimum - when he does not live in tribe. Powerful and nightmarish at the same time.

The ape considers a man and even more. The ape refuses any individual real or dynamic action shared with who nevertheless determined the course of the history, unless it is of not much importance or to make as everyone - and for cause it will cause in the end the loss. The ape considers himselef desired, he also thinks that the astronaut is very in love of his ape female and that he will go until the marriage so everything goes well. The man dreams of fabulous about female ape. The ape is hard-working. The ape considers himself rather cunning(malignant) to speak in the name of all its tribe. The ape is just egocentric person and a hyper-narcissist. The primitive art of the ape is the best. The ape passes in the path by daring to look up and down(to measure) the man. The ape spies on the man. The ape watches the man. The ape imitates the man. The ape is only a megalomaniac. The ape believes that the serenity of the rich makes the justice of the society. The ape lives in tribe. The ape is careful. But the man, him, cannot think by himself after all, and even in devil of the limit. Actually, the apes are just more hypocritical, wrapping itself in magnificent ideas and diverse generous philosophies arisen from the nothingness... I just adore finally certain passages more than explicit: how they are afraid of the human being and some more the astronaut, they refuse him among others the soap in its cage(goal), then wonder then that it is dirty!!

In the assistance thus of an almighty hierarchy containing henchmen as thinkers, the monkeys are perverts who placed everybody in slavery and it dice the young age, and who do not tolerate either running gag or contradiction in their speech. Because the majority of the human beings are blind otherwise starved both in the point of view and the soul that of the body, why not?

More than ever, this mythical work is thus current except its very funny aspects, except that it will be necessary to note that they are gorillas most of the time the closest to the man (and not chimpanzees, in fact nastier and much less cunning, malignant) than we believe after all.)

This was a really good show that should have given Apes fans more episodes to enjoy. It is a shame that only 14 or so were produced. Each episode had an interesting story line that provided the viewer insight to the ape culture. The two main leads were very likable and had flaws that required the help or encouragement of the other. Roddy McDowall did a fine job playing the sympathetic ape, Galen. The show did not try to mimic the films but created it's own story lines in an ape setting that was set apart from the films. I would have liked to have seen more stories involving this trio and perhaps even some type of resolution/conclusion to Allen and Burke's continual evasion from the apes.

I loved this series as a kid. Upon re watching it I knew it would be a lack-luster experience compared to the films from that era. But it does have some good stories and hit on a lot of socially conscious story lines despite the low production budgets to be expected back in the day. As is so common in the past, and even still today with regard to some projects , there are inconsistencies of logic and time frame compared to the films that preceded this TV show. The show takes place in the year 3084 AD, according to the title credit sequence, while the first film takes place in 3955 AD. It is clearly stated in one early episode that the events of the original Planet film is referenced and that talking humans appeared and that the Apes managed to suppress the event and turn it into a myth rather than fact. In this show humans talk, with rather contemporary speech and hair styles, 900 years before the events of the 1st film. Logical background info delivered through dialogue doesn't cost an extra penny in regard to production cost. Just bad, sloppy writing, no other excuse. This is probably the main reason , I suspect, the show was canned mid season. The cheap budget didn't help matters. If it wasn't for the existing props and costumes left over from the films I doubt they would have green lit this show in the 1st place. But I have to say, even in this show the ape make-up is very good and carries the show.

I have just finished watching the Planet of the Apes Tv series, which I decided to do since I happen to be a great fun of the original movie.

Watching it definetly did not let me down, as I was always interested to follow the adventurers in the endless trouble they got into all the time and good job was made to make sure viewers would be interested throughout.

The only downfall was that the original idea of the astronauts to escape and find some computer from the old days an establish what really happened was abandoned, therefore downgrading the plot.

7/10

A must watch for all the Planet of the Apes fans. I watched it back in the mid 90s when the show was re-telecasted. Watched it again on the DVDs recently and can say the show has not aged much, it can still give the modern versions a run for their money. It's a shame that the series ran only for 14 episodes but on the other hand, that's the beauty of the show that it is not dragged and the 14 episodes will be enough for a lot of viewers. Mark Lenard as Security Chief Urko did a tremendously awesome work, the performances of James Naughton and Ron Harper were great as well but Lenard stood out as the violent, uncompromising Urko. The show is more than 50 years old now but it stood the test of time and still stands as a unique take on the Planet of the Apes franchise. Still a great work of art.

They surely don't make them like these anymore. It surely has some retro cheese and cliche obviously because of the age it was filmed. However, the series truly captured the spirit of Planet of the apes. All the episodes are worth watching and a real treat for POTA fans. The series has its own twists from the original movie, which is great. Why would you like to watch the same movie again in 14 episodes? Some people just can't stop criticizing everything. I am happy that there is a series like this which exists, and it's a real gold. The effects, makeup and plots are real good. If you want to try, try the series on DVDs available on eBay.

I used to watch this show on the SCi-fi channel when they had good programs from the past. The series came about right after the 5th movie came out. Roddy Mcdowall, always a favorite of mine, starred as Galen. Ron Harper, who seems to be a real nice guy in real life, was also on the show. James Naughton was a new comer and starred alongside the other two. All three had a good chemistry together. The stories were good and they kept what made the movies good in the series. In fact, I enjoyed the series more than the movies. I really came to like Ron Harper when I saw an interview from the 3rd season Land of the Lost dvd release. He just seemed to be a regular guy. It is a shame he talked about having been in 6 tv series and not one was a hit. I just started watching him in Garrison's Gorillas and the show was awesome, but it only lasted a year. I also just purchased 87th precinct because this was Ron Harper's first series. Hopefully it is good as well. Anyway, the Planet of the Apes tv series is well worth purchasing.

I was in the 4th grade when this series came out. I bought the "planet of the apes" magazine every month and read it cover to cover... I was very, very much a Planet of the Apes (POTA) fanatic. I remember learning that POTA was coming to TV and was beside myself with joy. It was the greatest TV event of all time as far as I was concerned. But even at that young age, I was only half way through that first episode when I realized that it was really, really bad. The idea that I was going to be able to have POTA on TV...at home!...was amazing to me. I wanted to like it and was willing to forgive all sorts of junk, but I couldn't do it. I watched each episode, but it really felt like work to sit through. It was just bad, bad mid-70's TV that had people in ape suits. I would compare it to a Starsky and Hutch sort of thing, but that was a much better show!

PLANET OF THE APES was a show that stressed dialouge over brawn; Talk over heft and firepower. The tv show was big on words and had some good art direction yet alas, only lasted 14 episodes. The series featured creative people who worked on STAR TREK and had a quality to it seen prominently in the episode about the prison fishermen. The show at times had a flair of genius in production values and props. PLANET OF THE APES was a genre show in a era before big syndicated sci fi had found a market (except SPACE 1999). The series as a whole was not bad but it was not all it could have been either. There were questions raised in the films left unexplored that could have been delved into by the series. I recommend the DVD set to serious fans.