After avoiding podcasting about the Planet of the Apes franchise
for years it is finally time to talk about one of the weakest parts of the
classic run. The 1974 television series lasted only fourteen episodes and was one
of the most expensive shows produced up to that time. Author Mark Clark joins
me to discuss the entire run and we go on for far too long than is healthy.
Bear with us for the full running time as we dig out the interesting elements and
lament the missed opportunities of this nearly forgotten show. Is this
truncated series of adventures with two time-displaced astronauts and an ape
companion worth discovering or revisiting? We make our case.
Seen as part of the ongoing 1970’s journey of the science
fiction story from the four sequel films, the POTA TV series is clearly a Cul-de-sac
branching away from the established road. The first episode both negates a
connection to the previous stories and tries to link it to the original film with
an earlier astronaut landing spoken of by the leaders of Ape society. Mark
makes a strong argument for how the show could take place in one of the two
timelines set up in the films already but I am skeptical. We go through each
episode pointing out the usually hackneyed plots and overused clichés that
litter the stories being told. Often the scripts could easily have been written
as installments of a 1960’s western show and simply repurposed for the world of
the apes. But the few times the show leans on its science fiction premise are
more interesting even if it inevitably leads to very little.
If you’ve never watched this series, I hope our spoiler
filled podcast won’t put you off at least a partial exploration of our favorite
episodes. We can’t claim it’s our most loved part of the franchise but it has
its points of interest and entertainment.
If you have any comments about the Planet of the Apes TV
series or our plans to talk about the sequel films thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address
to send them. And if you are interested in the projects Mark speaks about near
the end of the show there are links below. Thanks for listening!
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