TV.com

Return to the Planet of the Apes

Favorite

Watched It I've Watched This 1

NBC (ended 1975)

USER EDITOR

maritimer00

User Score: 404

6.8

User Rating

43 votes

Your Rating: 10
Your Rating: 9.5
Your Rating: 9
Your Rating: 8.5
Your Rating: 8
Your Rating: 7.5
Your Rating: 7
Your Rating: 6.5
Your Rating: 6
Your Rating: 5.5
Your Rating: 5
Your Rating: 4.5
Your Rating: 4
Your Rating: 3.5
Your Rating: 3
Your Rating: 2.5
Your Rating: 2
Your Rating: 1.5
Your Rating: 1

Rate Now

SHOW REVIEWS
By TV.com Users

Write A Review

Show Summary

EDIT

Astronauts Bill Hudson, Jeff Carter and Judy Franklin, orbiting in the NASA spacecraft Venture, are caught in a time warp in 1976. They crash land roughly two millennia later on a planet where intelligent apes are the dominant species and humans are helpless primitives which the apes refer to as "humanoids." Only later do they realize that it's Earth of the far future. In Ape City, the head of the Simian Senate is orangutan Dr. Zaius, who knows the truth about humans and apes. General Urko, in charge of the gorilla army, wants to wipe out the humanoid menace. He is also power-hungry and plots to seize control of the government by proving the military is superior. Chimpanzee scientists Zira and Cornelius are sympathetic to the endangered species since they subscribe to the theory that apes evolved from humanoids. They are the only apes who know about Bill's ability to speak and keep all of the astronauts' secrets. Zira has named Bill, "Blue Eyes" because he is the only blond human she has ever seen. Supporting characters include Nova, a female humanoid the astronauts have befriended, and Colonel Ron Brent, an astronaut from the 22nd century who also entered a time warp and arrived 15-20 years before the main characters. The series was based on "La PlanÃ©te des Singes" (The Monkey Planet) by Pierre Boulle and lasted only one season. Unlike its theatrical predecessors, the Planet of the Apes series of films, Return to the Planet of the Apes placed the apes in a society with architecture and technology approximating mid-20th century United States and realizes Boulle's original style and setting. DePatie-Freleng Enterprises produced the show, although the animation is often confused with the similar Filmation style. However, the detailed background drawings combined with often simplistic animation is more reminiscent of Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest.moreless

Episode Guide

S 1 : Ep 13	River of Flames	Aired 11/29/75	go Hulu Free
S 1 : Ep 12	Terror on Ice Mountain	Aired 11/22/75	go Hulu Free
S 1 : Ep 11	Battle of the Titans	Aired 11/15/75	go Hulu Free
S 1 : Ep 10	Invasion of the Underdwellers	Aired 11/8/75	go Hulu Free
S 1 : Ep 9	Mission of Mercy	Aired 11/1/75	go Hulu Free

See Full Episode Guide

Cast & Crew

EDIT

Henry Corden	the voice of General Urko
Claudette Nevins	the voice of Judy Franklin / Nova
Austin Stoker	the voice of Jeff Carter
Richard Blackburn	the voice of Bill Hudson / Dr. Zaius
Edwin Mills	the voice of Cornelius
Phillippa Harris	the voice of Zira

See All Cast & Crew

Return to the Planet of the Apes Listings

Full Listings

Sunday

No results found.

Monday

No results found.

Tuesday

No results found.

Fan Reviews (2)

Classic 70s Sci-Fi

8.7

By IssaAkbar, Jun 10, 2006

Classic Sci-Fi from the 70s and a great spin off from the 'Planet of the Apes' movies. Love time travel stories and this was one of the 1st and used to look forward to this series when growing up. Loved the ape characters as well, like Cornelius, Dr. Zaius and the evil General Urko. Loved the episodes where they find the plane and Cornelius unearths the book 'A day at the Zoo' on an archaeological dig. I remember a classic scene where one of the astronauts is locked up and General Urko proclaims that only birds can fly. The prisoner then asks for a piece of paper, proceeds to make a paper plane then launches it to the apes amazement, classic stuff!moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
0 0

Flag
Share Hide
Return To The Planet Of The Apes...you can't go wrong when monkeys are involved!

8.0

By KingOrin, Sep 21, 2005

First a little back story. Before I even knew what the movies, TV series or animated series were about, I knew the apes were cool. The kid next door had the POTA (Planet Of The Apes) Mego toys and we'd spend hours having them face off against Captain Kirk, Fonzie and Ponch from CHiPs.

So years go by, I'm in college actually, and I finally sit down and watch the original film. Instantly hooked! I rush to by the DVD box set of the film series and I am loving life. It wasn't just the Mego toys...these were great movies. Then the TV series gets released and again I'm a happy little monkey. Something was missing though. I'd seen in the documentary included with the film series that there was also an animated series. So I began a quest for this simian treasure.

Flash ahead a few more years when I get my hands on a couple episodes on a bootleg video at a convention. My quest is now further fueled by my determination to own all of the episodes. After all, with the movies and live action series already under my belt, it seemed only logical to complete the collection in full.

I recently attended another convention were I found a high quality DVD set of the complete animated series. Awesome! The first episode starts very much like the original film. A space craft crashing on a desolate world. Three astronauts, Bill, Jeff and Judy, began a long trek through harsh conditions to find food and water they'll need to survive until they're rescued or can find a way home. The hike plays out with minimal dialogue for almost the first 10 minutes and really helps to reinforce the situation. I was actually a little surprised to see how well written it was. RETURN isn't a dumbed down kiddie show, it was written as intelligent sci-fi carrying on themes, characters (Cornelius, General Urko, Dr Zaius even Nova!) and situations from the book and films! There's a continuing story, a serialization, that to me at least is a rare thing in the world of Saturday morning cartoons.

Admittedly Filmation's animation from this period is at times "limited". Static figures against moving backgrounds. Identical footage re-used over and over again. But for all of its faults, it only adds to the character of the series.

All in all I'd say this is a must for die hard fans and at least worth a look for the casual viewer as well. Like I've always said, you can't go wrong when monkeys are involved!moreless
DO YOU AGREE?
0 0

Flag
Share Hide

See All Fan Reviews

Latest News

YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF REASONS TO STAY INSIDE THIS FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER WHEN YOU SEE THIS BATCH OF DVDS. REVISIT THE FIRST EPISODES OF C.S.I. AND FRASIER, OR WATCH THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME. FOR SOLID SCI-FI OFFERINGS, YOU HAVE THE COMPLETE SERIES OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE, THE SECOND SEASON OF MEDIUM, ANDROMEDA'S SEASON FIVE, AND A SLIM SET OF STARGATE SG-1. AND DON'T FORGET TO BRING HOME THE CLASSICS THE BRADY BUNCH, THREE'S COMPANY, AND THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO!

October 3, 2006 DVD Releases

By Melissa Toutjian, Sep 27, 2006

See All News

Watch Full Episodes: Return to the Planet of the Apes

go

Hulu

Free

River of Flames

S 1 : Ep 13

Aired 11/29/75 (24:20)
go

Hulu

Free

Terror on Ice Mountain

S 1 : Ep 12

Aired 11/22/75 (24:26)
go

Hulu

Free

Battle of the Titans

S 1 : Ep 11

Aired 11/15/75 (24:25)
go

Hulu

Free

Invasion of the Underdwellers

S 1 : Ep 10

Aired 11/8/75 (24:14)

See All Full Episodes

Forums: Return to the Planet of the Apes

Add a Topic

Note from editor...
I'll be beefing up the content of this guide quite a bit over the next month or so and welcome submissions from all fans of the sh...

By maritimer00, Jan 08, 2007

07/26/08

2
Reply
Anyone here watch Return to the Planet of the Apes
I like this show it was pretty cool.

By egarevlis, Dec 01, 2005

04/04/07

5
Reply
Great Show
This has to be one of the best cartoons of all time.

By maglama, Dec 24, 2005

03/19/07

5
Reply