Saturday, December 16, 2006


PLANET OF THE APES TV: DVD REVIEW
A short blurb from 20TH Century Fox about Planet Of The Apes TV:” Based on the enormously popular and successful Planet of the Apes movies, the 1974 TV series has become a true cult classic.”
I waited with baited breath for the series when it first was shown back in 1974 when I was 10 years old. I thought the series what great! How the memory cheats! I enjoyed to no end watching them again on DVD but the show was very pedestrian in plot and chases but when I was a kid, I didn’t notice all of that. The show itself has been extremely hard to find on TV as well as any trading circles. It has been shown overseas for quite a few years, so for that I’m glad its finally available again here. There is also a 14th episode that was never aired originally. That episode is called “The Liberator”. It was also neat to see Roddy McDowell continuing in the series having previously been in the films.

VIDEO

The video quality is only fair! Taken from film prints with LOTS of film dirt and specks!
No remastering done here! Episodes are uncut though.

Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. Audio quality is good to very good.


Disc 1- 1. “Escape From Tomorrow”
2. “The Gladiators”
3. “The Trap”
4. “The Good Seeds”


Disc 2- 1. “The Legacy”
2. “Tomorrow’s Tide”
3. “The Surgeon”
4. “The Deception”

Disc 3- 1. “The Horse Race”
2. “The Interrogation”
3. “The Tyrant”
4. “The Cure”

Disc 4-1. “The Liberator”
2. “Up Above the World So High”



Extras

Disc 4: Planet Of The Apes Movies DVD Trailer
Planet of the Apes Theatrical Trailer (2001)


Verdict

I would buy this set if you like the films and even the cartoon series that was also shown a year later. The picture and audio quality are fair. Fox usually does a good job with their product, all things considered. The extras are just trailers and it would have been nice to see either a audio commentary or two and a making of featurette but for the price and at least having it on DVD now makes it worth the price.



Rating: ***

1 comment:

Eric Jamborsky said...

There's a good reason the Planet Of The Apes TV series is rarely seen. And you hit the nail on the head. It was pretty poor. Of course the Logan's Run series was even worse.

Great reviews and info.
Eric