Rating: 
Summary: A lot to like in this set!
Review: Despite the limitations of seventies TV, these shows really did work! Though obviously not as good as the original Chuck Heston movie, they really are better viewing than the OTHER PotA movies (which were, let's face it, pretty hard to sit through for the most part). In some ways, I like this continuity a lot better than the silver-screen version, even the original film!WHAT I LIKED: Humans weren't reduced to "animals" in the TV version. That made more sense than the movie version, which made Man into beast for the purposes of satire only. Since the TV show was more straight sci-fi (with only a tint of allegory) and less satire, it used a more logical, recognizable version of the human race. The astronauts were can-do types of people, not the defeatist that Charlton Heston played (brilliantly). For a one-shot deal, that added to the movie, but for a TV show, you need leads who are likable. And let's face it: NASA wouldn't put a man in a spaceship if he had Taylor's negative attitude. They want people who calmly view ANY problem imaginable and say, "No problem. We'll just fix it." That's what's cool about these guys. Short of McGuyver, you won't find any more level headed heroes on TV! Urko! WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Not enough plot diversity. Admittedly, this was probably due to the short life of the show, but it would have been great to see other kinds of stories. It's a shame the series didn't last long enough to grow beyond it's original premise (a fate shared by too many potentially great sci-fi shows that never get the chance to become what they ought to be, ala Battlestar Galactica, Space: Above and Beyond, Firefly, The Flash, etc...). Therefore, I guess my only real complaint boils down to the show getting cancelled! :)
Rating: 
Summary: just a note on the 14th...
Review: This is great to get on DVD (oddly, it's never been released on VHS). Just a note from a guy who watched this on CBS in 1974 when I was 15 and recorded the episodes onto little audio-only cassette tapes and kept a list of episode titles on notebook paper -- CBS really DID air all 14 episodes. Some reference books get this correct, others don't. "The Liberator" did air (I still have my cassette audio recording of it from the CBS broadcast). I have the episode title written done on paper from '74. It aired, in December. The only thing I can figure as to why some sources (like the DVD cover) say this episode didn't air is this -- and it's just a guess -- perhaps some CBS channels ran it, and others didn't. This happened with the last 3 episodes of LOGAN'S RUN, and the final CLIFFHANGERS (you watched them or not, depending on where you lived, and what your local channel chose to air of the two options the networks gave them). I can't think why else this misinformation is out there. Reference books from the '70's and '80's ALL list 14 ran. Anyway, enjoy this set, the best thing I've yet to see on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: GO APE!
Review: This is a great bargain with 14 complete episodes at such a good price and so many terrific moments to enjoy. Like many 70's shows this one suffers a bit from being formula and the 'Fugitive' like style can be too repetitive BUT there is something charming about the main cast and they are all excellent including Mark Lenard as Urko and Roddy McDowell as the lovable Galen. Notable moments that I enjoyed include Urko and Virdon having to work together to survive being trapped in an underground subway and running out of air (great performances), primitve ape surgical techniques, Dr Zaeus is terrific, William Smith and Marc Singer's appearances are cool in an episode about galiators, Burke's love for the family he may never see again is moving, Galen's disguising himself as other types of apes such as a foppish Scarlet Pimpernel type ape is a lot of fun, KKK styled apes (!!!), Roddy McDowell as an ape in a primitive hang glider freaking out, primitive brain washing (Urko's discription of what he thinks brain washing is cracks me up!), a mysterious temple with a masked high priest where human mysteriously die 'killed by the gods', Rosco Lee Brown (ya gotta love Roscoe Lee Brown), and the love of a blind female ape for Virdon who she doesn't realize is human (it's actually very touching) and more! There are so many other great bits to be found here if you can get past the unfortunate 'Fugitive' like formula. Pick this up and go ape!
Rating:
Summary: Planet of the Apes tv series
Review: I thought the tv series was very interesting in that it was comical in a good way. Unlike the movies, the whole family could watch the shows together. There were some intense moments but all in all, the shows were watchable. Granted some people may not be as interested in the series as they were in the movies, but as for me, I liked the series because of the comical and friendship the two astronant and Galen the chimpanzee had throughout the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Planet one might expect...
Review: Although I understand the restrictions of TV shows, I simply cannot understand how every effort was made to improve, enhance and remix the movie series and not the TV series.
The transfer was simply made from the filmed material onto DVD.
No sound remix, therefore simply monaural transfer. Many of the fourteen episodes muster evident imperfections. The most notable ones, being scratches appearing here and there.
This is simply not enough to re-release a TV series such as this one.
All the episodes, except perhaps two, are just following one main theme: escaping from the Planet of the Apes.
Not enough to hold the attention of a viewer for too long.
The characters we learned to cherish in the movies are long gone and replaced by totally new ones.
Except for Roddy McDowall as Galen and Mark Lenard (who also played Spock's father, Sarek in Star Trek) as General Urko, who steal the show at every turn, the rest of the cast, as well as the guest stars, are just a poor excuse to justify the continuing adventures on the Planet and are just wasted.
All in all, one may suspect a certain unwillingness by the Studio at protracting this torture for far too long.
In fact, the series didn't even make it through a full season.
This series on DVD are just for real fanatics of the genre, but not justifiable to a vaster audience.
In comparison, Tim Burton's new theatrical version, may still be more envisageable than the TV series.
It simply doesn't add anything to the original movies, nor does it reflect Pierre Boulle's vision.
If want to buy it for your kids, to have some fun with human apes, than this may be pure escapism of a very wholesome kind, but if you plan to give it as gift to friends, who know the movies, it may be considered as an insult...
Rating:
Summary: A Time Warp Back To Childhood!
Review: BRAVO!! It is about time that FOX released this very under-rated series on DVD. I remember watching the cut "movies" (made from spliced episodes of this series) on TV at a very young age. They were great then, and they've lost none of their potency! I highly recommend this set to anyone who truly appreciates the Scfi genere of the classic Planet Of The Apes films........in many ways it's even much better than all of the "Apes" movies (save for the original with C. Heston of course). All of the characters are spectacular, and very very "fun". In fact, I feel that it's superior to most of the nonsense they are pitching on the Scfi channel today. Truly, my only regret is that there are only 14 shows to view....
Rating: 
Summary: problems with dimming scenes
Review: i've got it and it has scenes where the lighting changes mid-scene, going from light to dim and back again...makes it almost unwatchable... dave ;]
Rating:
Summary: AT LAST, The release of the Planet of the Apes TV series
Review: AT Last,the wait is over Ape fans! 20th Century Fox has released the Planet of the Apes TV series on DVD! This DVD release is outstanding. No more cut up reruns on Sci-Fi, no more compiled 2 hour versions with cut out parts and worn out dark film. Here they are in clear, crisp,format like they were ment to be seen. I bought 4 of the VHS sets from Austraila a few years ago when Fox released them over there. (Still have one entire set sealed. Any one want to buy it?) I thought that that would be the best I would ever get them but the DVD's blow the VHS out of the water. As far as some of the complaints about the occasional white specks, I own The Deception and the 2 hour compiled made for TV movie Back to the Planet of the Apes (Escape from Tomorrow and The Trap) on 16MM film. They have the same specks. I think that maybe Fox used lower quality film for TV. (The Adam West and Burt Ward Batman series does the same thing.)Just be happy that Fox finally released them after all of these years. Now if we could just get them to release the anamiated Planet of the Apes TV series we would be set!
Rating:
Summary: Better than you would think
Review: I just barely remember this series on TV when I was a kid. I remembered no episode plots or details, only the fact that there was a series. But being a fan of the movies (sans the recent Tim Burton fiasco) I decided to see how well the series holds up.
I was pleasantly surprised that the episodes, having been produced in the 70's, were quite entertaining. I've watched all the episodes and not once found myself skipping scenes. I truly enjoyed watching -- enough so that I purchased it after renting first.
Since this is a period series, albeit in the future, it holds up pretty well. There are things in the old city ruins and onboard the spaceship in the pilot that give away the time period in which the show was made, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the show. A real plus for PotA movie fans.
Rating:
Summary: This box set is simply FANTASTIC !
Review: Where do I begin? I absolutely LOVED this show as a kid, and I could hardly wait to get my hands on this box set once I knew it was going to be available. I managed to catch these episodes some years ago when they were aired on the Sci-Fi Channel, and I wondered if these classic episodes would ever become available as some sort of video collection. Except for the original Star Trek series, I don't believe I have ever thoroughly enjoyed another sci-fi tv series, nor felt such a feeling of closeness between the main characters (Virdon, Burke, and Galen). These episodes are just as wonderful and fun to watch as I remember them. I am pleased to own this FABULOUS collection ! A must have for all POTA fans, and worth every penny! :}
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