Planet of the Apes (TV series)

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Planet of the Apes.

Part of the intertitle to Planet of the Apes
Format Science fiction drama
Created by Anthony Wilson
Starring Roddy McDowall
Ron Harper
James Naughton
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 14
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Herbert Hirschman
Producer(s) Stan Hough
Running time approx. 47 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run September 13, 1974 – December 20, 1974
External links
IMDb profile

Planet of the Apes was a short-lived American science fiction television series that aired on Friday evenings at 8:00 (Eastern) on CBS in 1974. The series starred Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper, and James Naughton. Mark Lenard guest starred in almost every episode.

The series ran from September 13, 1974 to December 20, 1974. Although fourteen episodes were produced, only 13 were originally aired; the 14th previously unseen "lost" episode was included in the DVD box set which is now available. The show was cancelled after one season, because of low ratings, due to direct competition with NBC's Top 10 hits Sanford and Son and Chico and the Man.[1]

Contents

[edit] Introduction

The series, set in 3085, begins with the crash of an earth NASA spaceship, this time from 1980. The spaceship is manned by three astronauts, one of whom has died in the crash. The other two astronauts are unconscious but are rescued by a human who carries them to an old bomb shelter. After the human opens a book containing historical text and pictures of Earth circa 2500, the two astronauts are convinced that they are indeed on a future Earth.

The crash is also witnessed by a young chimpanzee who tells the authorities. Ape counselor Dr. Zaius (an analog of the Zaius character from the original movie), notes that another such incident occurred ten years earlier. He orders the head gorilla, General Urko (Mark Lenard), to find the humans and bring them back alive. Dr. Zaius wants to find out as much as he can about the humans before they are eventually killed. Dr. Zaius doesn't trust General Urko to follow his orders and bring back any surviving humans, so he sends along his newly-hired chimpanzee assistant, Galen (Roddy McDowall, who played Cornelius and Caesar in most of the film versions).

The two astronauts, Colonel Alan Virdon (Ron Harper) and Major Peter J. Burke (James Naughton), go back to their ship to check the ship's chronometer. They are more than 1000 years in the future from when they left Earth. Virdon insists on retrieving the ship's flight log in the hopes that they will be able to analyze it and be able to return to their own time period, but while they are at the ship, they are captured, and the old man is subsequently killed by a group of apes.

Galen finds the human book that the old man had been carrying. He reads parts of the book and begins to doubt the history that he has been told: apes have always been dominant, and humans have always been inferior and subservient. When Galen finds out that Urko has arranged for the two astronauts to escape and be killed in the attempt, he prevents the shooter and helps the humans escape.

Galen discusses the book that he found with Dr. Zaius, who then accuses him of heresy. Galen is sentenced to death for his crime. The two astronauts find out about his sentence and rescue Galen. They are all then declared enemies of the state and become fugitives. The three fugitives wander around the territory that used to be the western United States having various encounters with apes, humans, and old human civilization ruins.

[edit] Episodes

Episode First airdate
Escape From Tomorrow 13 September 1974
The Gladiators 20 September 1974
The Trap 27 September 1974
The Good Seed 4 October 1974
The Legacy 11 October 1974
Tomorrow's Tide 18 October 1974
The Surgeon 25 October 1974
The Deception 1 November 1974
The Horse Race 8 November 1974
The Interrogation 15 November 1974
The Tyrant 22 November 1974
The Cure 29 November 1974
The Liberator Never aired during original run*
Up Above the World So High 6 December 1974*
  • Though most sources, including the official Fox DVD release, cite "The Liberator" as an unaired episode, it is listed as having aired on December 6, 1974 in Planet of the Apes Revisited by Joe Russo, Larry Landsman and Edward Gross. "Up Above the World So High" is also given a different release date in this book: December 20th, 1974)

[edit] Chronology

Based on information provided by the 1974 episodes, a timeline of events can be compiled.

Prior to their mission, an Oil Magnate, wishing to live like a 16th century Baron, builds a castle near Oakland California. Virdon relates this information in “The Legacy.”
Alan Virdon becomes a colonel and Peter J. Burke become a major. Virdon’s rank is established in “The Legacy.” Burke’s rank is established in “The Interrogation.” They are either in the United States Air Force or the United States Marine Corps. The United States Navy does not have a Colonel rank.
Virdon, Burke and “Jonesy” begin training for the mission to Alpha Centauri.
The Earth they leave behind has a variety of high technology. Subway cars are powered by nuclear energy. Light bulbs are developed that can never burn out. Solar energy is widely used. Complete nutrition is available in pill form. Organ replacement via Formula C3 is in use. Disposable clothing, that can be worn and then washed down the drain, is fashionable. Emotional disorders can be treated electronically via ENT (Electronic Neurological Treatment). Burke tells Urko the wonders of his time in “The Trap.”

August 19, 1980:

A starship crewed by Alan Virdon (Commander), Peter Burke and “Jonesy” launches from Earth for a voyage to Alpha Centauri. This date is from the chronometer from the opening credits.
As the ship approaches Alpha Centauri, it travels through “radioactive turbulence” and goes out of control, which could be a Hasslein Curve. Virdon directs “Jonesey” to activate the automatic homing device.

1986:

A book on brain washing techniques is published. In the years that follow, it is placed into a time capsule where it will be discovered a millennia later by Wanda. Wanda discusses the book in “The Interrogation.”
At some point prior to the Nuclear Holocaust scientists of the Oakland Science Institute, predicting that Humanity is on the verge of entering a dark age, collects and stores the sum total of Human knowledge in various vaults around the world.

2503:

New York exists as a futuristic metropolis.
(This is apocryphal. The movie series establishes that the atomic war occurred in the early 2000s. Please refer to contradictions below.)
During the early part of the Ornan Period, a fever, which struck only the human population, killed several hundred people in a section of the rural zone. The entire sector became barren for years afterward. This was described in “The Cure.” It is impossible to accurately pinpoint the exact date of “The Ornan Period.” The implication is that it occurred hundreds of years in the past and was not common knowledge to the ape population at large.

2985:

Apes raided the village of Borak for Human slaves. Many beings were killed on both sides. Finally a meeting arranged and an agreement was reached. The Humans would provide five slaves twice a month during the Summer months for work in the mines.
(Brun describes this sad history in “The Liberator.” He states that this happened "a long, long time ago". His ceremony is described as being done in the fashion of “Our fathers and our father’s father.” It can be postulated that this happened a century previously before the living-memory of anyone in the village. It can be presumed that it occurred within three or four generations.)

3060:

Barlow becomes Prefect for the Human settlement of Kaymak. He introduces gladiatorial combat to channel the aggressive impulses of Humans. Soon after Tolar falls in love and sires a son. Barlow states in The Gladiators that he has been Prefect for 25 years. Tolar states that Dalton’s mother was interested in him because of the games.

3061:

Galen is born in Central city to Ann and Yalu.
Urko, Aboro and Bulta enter the academy together.
Urko and Bulta graduate from the academy.

3070:

Nine year old Galen and his cousin, Augustus, steal apples from a neighbor’s tree. (Galen reminisces about this with Augustus in “The Tyrant.”)
Zaius joins the High Council. This occurs prior to the beginning of the series.
General Urko is appointed Chief of Security. This occurs prior to the beginning of the series.

3080:

Chimpanzee Anto, eldest son if Polar, begins to anxiously wait for a male calf to be born so that he may start his own farm. (Anto says that he has been waiting for 5 years in The Good Seeds.)

3081:

Galen and Kira become engaged. For undisclosed reasons, they do not get married. Galen and Kira infer that they broke off the engagement in recent years.

3082:

Dr. Kira experiments with blood transfusions unsuccessfully. Kira notes that she attempted a blood transfusion a few years ago.

July 3083:

Farrow discovers the bomb shelter “about two years ago.” He tells Burke and Virdon this in June of 3085.

June 14, 3085 or March 21, 3085:

The starship reentry vehicle crash-lands on earth outside the Human settlement of Chailo. Astronaut “Jonesey” is killed in the crash.
(The two dates come from two different attributions from the series. The March date is from the ship’s chronometer. The June date is from the opening credits. Burke indicates that the chronometer may have stopped before they crashed. The June 14th date will be used for the purposes of this chronology.)

June 16, 3085:

Burke and Virdon are captured by Urko and Galen

June 17, 3085:

Burke and Virdon are set up to be “shot while trying to escape”. Galen accidentally kills Urko’s lieutenant in a struggle.

June 24, 3085:

Virdon, Burke and Galen begin their adventures together.
(Virdon remarks that it has been a week since they escaped.)

[edit] Episodes timeline

Escape from Tomorrow

This episode tells the story of the astronauts' crash, the rescue and subsequent capture of two of them, and their escape with Galen.

The Gladiators

Burke estimates they are north of San Francisco.
A human kills Urko’s Lieutenant, Jason.
Urko holds Barlow responsible for Jason’s death and transfers him to the remote outpost of Venton.

The Trap

Burke, Virdon and Galen are near the village of Numai. This is near the ruins of San Francisco.

The Good Seeds

Burke, Virdon and Galen go to Polar’s farm. The farm is “four day’s hard ride from Center City. The travelers spend two weeks here so that Galen's leg can mend. While they are there, Virdon, who grew up on a farm, helps Polar improve crop yields, introduces the family to such things as butter, and helps deliver a bull calf Polar's eldest son needs to start his own farm.

The Legacy

Burke, Virdon and Galen enter the ruins of Oakland.

Tomorrow’s Tide

Burke, Virdon and Galen approach the Pacific Ocean. Burke speculates that it could be Malibu, Pismo Beach or Paradise Cove.

The Surgeon

Virdon is shot by a gorilla patrol. Galen and Burke take him to a medical center outside Center City, where he must undergo an operation involving a blood transfusion, a procedure ape doctors believe to be impossible.

The Horse Race

Burke, Virdon and Galen enter the village of Venton.

After winning the wager with Urko, Barlow, along with Martin and Gregor, return to Kaymak.

Wanda discovers an ancient book on brainwashing techniques in a time capsule from the late 20th century.

(Wanda states the book was recently discovered in “The Interrogation.”)

Yalu, Galen’s father is recently elected to the high council.
(Galen learns of this happening recently in “The Interrogation.”)

The Interrogation

Burke is captured and taken to Central City. Urko goes on an inspection tour of the outer provinces.

The Tyrant

Virdon, Burke and Galen enter the village of Hathor.

The Cure

Virdon, Burke and Galen enter the village of Trion. Virdon meets Amy and tells her the friends' secret, to Galen's displeasure. One week later the group leaves the village. Malaria breaks out there shortly aferward.

The Liberator

It is summer. Virdon, Burke and Galen approach the village of Borak.

Up Above the World So High.

Virdon, Burke and Galen are near the sea. They encounter a human who is experimenting with flight in a hang-glider he has built himself.

[edit] Telefilms

In 1981, several episodes of the series were edited into five made-for-television movies.

  • Back to the Planet of the Apes
  • The Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes
  • Treachery and Greed on the Planet of the Apes
  • Life, Liberty, and Pursuit on the Planet of the Apes
  • Farewell to the Planet of the Apes

[edit] Galen's last appearance

When the Planet of the Apes telefilms entered syndication, ABC's owned and operated stations, who picked them up for their afternoon movie programs (under titles such as The 4:30 Movie), called upon Roddy McDowall to re-create his role of Galen in a series of new openings and closings specifically for these stations, billed as "The New Planet of the Apes." The introductions originally created by 20th Century Fox to open each film was replaced by a now-aged Galen (McDowall) looking back on the events of the telefilms. The openings and closings revealed Virdon and Burke's final fates: "they found their computer in another city and disappeared into space as suddenly as they’d arrived." The ABC openings and closings of these telefilms were never seen on other stations, nor were they included on the DVD set of the series. [2]

[edit] Spinoffs

Most of the books and comics based on Planet of the Apes are based on the movies, not the TV series. However, there are some titles that do involve the TV show characters:

Novelizations -- Four novelizations of episodes, written by George Alec Effinger, were published by Award Books. Their titles are:

  • Planet of the Apes #1: Man the Fugitive
  • Planet of the Apes #2: Escape From Tomorrow
  • Planet of the Apes #3: Journey Into Terror
  • Planet of the Apes #4: Lord of the Apes

British Annuals -- Brown-Watson Books published three hardcover annuals featuring original stories about Virdon, Burke and Galen. These stories are a combination of comic strips and short fiction.

Audio Adventures -- Power Records produced four audio-only adventures based on the TV show. Their titles were:

  • Mountain of the Delphi
  • Battle of Two Worlds
  • Dawn of the Tree People
  • Volcano

Argentine Comics -- Seven Spanish-language comics were published in Argentina, written by Jorge Claudio Morhain and illustrated by Sergio Mulko. Released only in Argentina, they have never been officially published in English. However PDFs of the comics, translated to English by fans, are available at Kassidy Rae's site. (See link below.)

Filmstrip Story -- Chad Valley, a U.K. toy company, produced 32 short film-based comic strips containing an original TV-series-era story, packaged as the Chad Valley Picture Show Planet of the Apes Sliderama Projector (very similar to the many Give-a-Show projector sets of the 1970s. These strips are extremely rare and difficult to come by.

[edit] Credits

Starring:

Frequent guest stars:

Other credits:

[edit] Location

The series was filmed for the most part on location at what is now Malibu Creek State Park.

[edit] External links

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