Go Ape Week: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Trail to the Unknown"

In “Trail to the Unknown,” Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) at last begins to explore many of its long-gestating plot-lines.  

The episode continues the story of the World War II plane stolen by the human astronauts, but it also connects Bill, Judy and Jeff with Ron Brent, the astronaut from 2109 who landed on the planet of the apes years two decades before they did.

Here, we meet the older Brent and see his wrecked spaceship in the desert.  Unlike Bill, Judy and Jeff, however, he has never tangled with the apes.  Instead, Brent has built a life for himself, of sorts, in the arid Forbidden Zone for twenty years.  From this point forward, however, Brent is a series regular, and helps the other astronauts protect the primitive humanoids.

In “Trail to the Unknown,” Bill, Judy and Jeff move the endangered humanoids to “New Valley” in an attempt to escape Urko’s patrols.  Urko is still in search of the warplane the astronauts stole in “Screaming Wings," and will stop at nothing to re-acquire it.

The astronauts come across Brent in the Forbidden Zone, and he leads them to a spot in the valley where the astronauts can, using their recovered laser drill, build a pueblo for the primitive humans.

I don’t know if cancellation was in the air at this point and so there was a push to start resolving plot lines, but the creators of Return to the Planet of the Apes demonstrate in "Trail to the Unknown" their willingness to move beyond the status quo that dominated early episodes.  In recent programs, for instance, we have seen the Under Dwellers become allies with the astronauts, the return of Judy, and the coup attempt by Urko (and Zaius’s response).  Here we meet Brent, a character hasn’t been mentioned since the very first episode of the series.

What’s nice about this is that the overall narrative finally has some momentum, and the series seems to be regrouping and heading in a fresh direction.  By episode’s end, the astronauts -- now teamed with Brent--have built a defensible home for the humanoids.  They also use the plane to destroy a land bridge, preventing Urko from bringing in his heavy artillery.

Overall, “Trail to the Unknown” is an impressive episode of the series, and one that shows real growth in terms of the overall narrative.

Go Ape Week: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Tunnel of Fear"

In “Tunnel of Fear,” this week’s episode of the animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975), General Urko plans a new hunt that will eliminate the humanoid threat forever. 

Jeff (Austin Stoker), meanwhile, wants to move the jeopardized and primitive humanoids to a new location where they can be protected from this and all future ape aggression.

Accordingly, Jeff and Bill seek assistance from Cornelius and Zira in Ape City.  The astronauts from Earth’s past return to the city they recently escaped from and encounter a giant spider in the sewer system. 

After they reach the chimpanzee’s lab, the astronauts ask for help, and Cornelius, after grappling with his conscience, realizes he can help the astronauts get the humanoids to a new home. He knows just the place too. His archaeological dig in the Forbidden Zone runs near an underground river, and leads into a serene, hidden valley.  It would be the perfect home for the humanoids.

“Tunnel of Fear” opens with two gorilla sentries talking about General Urko and his plans for total ape domination of the planet, while they sip hot coffee by chilly moonlight.  This scene is one of the (many) reasons I appreciate this particular Saturday morning series.  It would have been just as easy to create a scene with Urko himself making his plans (before the council, or his troops, perhaps), but instead we get this boots-on-the-ground discussion of strategy between “grunts” and it seems more like a scene from Shakespeare’s Henry V than a moment on a 1970s cartoon.  Urko’s efforts, after all, impact the men -- er apes -- he leads into battle.

The episode also presents a nice moral dilemma for Cornelius and Zira.  Dr. Zaius trusts the pacifist chimps, and solicits their help in capturing Blue Eyes and the humanoids.

Meanwhile, Bill and Jeff want the same individuals to help them get the humanoids to safety.

Thus Cornelius and Zira need to determine the “higher” morality in this case, and must grapple with feelings that they are betraying Zaius, and therefore their own people.   The scene wherein Cornelius sort of “waffles” -- going back-and-forth from side-to-side -- is especially well-presented t and showcases both perspectives ably.  This scene is especially good for children to watch, as it involves decision-making, and ways to choose when both options might rightly cause harm to some party.  In this case, Cornelius realizes it is better to betray Zaius than to let the innocent humanoids die, and he speculates that someday Zaius and the Planet of the Apes might even be happy that he chose this way.

“Tunnel of Fear” features only one overtly juvenile moment. In the sewers, Bill and Jeff encounter the aforementioned giant spider and get trapped in its web, before breaking free.  This is the first outbreak of pulp childishness on a TV series that otherwise avoids such clichés.  The whole idea of a giant spider in the sewers is a silly one. If there were really spiders of this size in Ape City’s sewers, certainly it would be a public health crisis.  And besides, the encounter with the giant arachnid adds nothing to the overall story.  It’s just a “danger” for the kiddies to enjoy between scenes of dialogue.

Go Ape Week! Return to the Planet of the Apes: "The Unearthly Prophecy"

The third episode of the Saturday morning series Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) introduces a critical element to the animated production: the Under Dwellers.

In “The Unearthly Prophecy,” human astronauts Jeff and Bill travel through the arid Forbidden Zone, and spy gorilla soldiers on the march.  Specifically, General Urko’s army is hunting an unknown enemy nearby. 

When a hatch suddenly opens up in the ground, Jeff and Bill travel through it and discover the secret of the apes’ nemesis.  Beneath the planet of the apes live cloaked human mutants, the aforementioned Under Dwellers.

And, making matters worse, these Under Dwellers are holding, Judy -- the third astronaut from the 20^th century -- as their captive.   She seems to have amnesia, and the Under Dwellers revere her as some kind of God because she resembles a statue bust found in their subterranean caverns.  In a crazy twist of fate, that is actually a statue of Judy, a 20^th century statue honoring one of the missing astronauts. On the bottom of the bust are inscribed the letters “U.S.A,” and the Under Dwellers pronounce it “Oosa.”  They believe “Oosa” is Judy’s name and that she is the answer to a dark prophecy.

This episode -- which creatively re-imagines elements of the saga spearheaded first in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) -- features some fantastic and very memorable post-apocalyptic imagery.  We see the ruins of the New York Library, Wall Street, the subway, and other New York sights, as well as scraps of twisted, half-melted metal.  Again, this kind of post-apocalyptic, post-nuclear war visual is hardly par for the course for a kid’s show, circa 1975, but the art-work is splendid, and wonderfully detailed. It may be true that the animation on this series is limited, but the background paintings and settings are beyond reproach.

When Jeff and Bill discover the Public Library ruins, they also get their Charlton Heston-Statue of Liberty moment.  The astronauts realize that they have returned to Earth, only in their own distant future.  “What could have happened?” they wonder, but the ruins surely tell the story.  Man destroyed himself.

“The Unearthly Prophecy” also introduces the leader of the Under Dwellers, Krador, and much detail regarding Under Dweller Technology.  In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the mutants in New York City had the Alpha-Omega Bomb and the “defensive” weapon of mental telepathy, which could create illusions, but precious little in terms of advanced technology. 

Here, the Under Dwellers don’t actually create illusions, but can nonetheless move mountains up and down on the surface.  They also boast huge, high-tech, energy generators in their caverns, as well as control panels by the dozen.  The animated series seems to be setting-up the Under Dwellers as a highly technological race then, and a different kind of foe for the apes.

Go Ape Week: Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975): "Escape from Ape City"

In the second episode of the animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes, which aired on NBC in 1975, displaced human astronaut Bill Hudson is captured by gorilla soldiers and taken with other “humanoids” to Ape City.  There, Zira and Cornelius hope to study this human -- whom they name “Blue Eyes” -- over Urko’s protestation that all humanoid subjects are required for soldier training.  Thanks to Zaius, the chimpanzees prevail.

After Bill reveals himself capable of intelligent speech, Zira and Cornelius realize just how unusual their new subject really is.  A gorilla guard also overhears him talking, and alerts the authorities.  Bill escapes with the help of his two friends, and meets up with Nova and Jeff.  They burn up the gorilla wagons so that no more humans can be captured by the apes, and then flee to the wilderness.

Jeff and Bill realize that the humanoids on the planet are defenseless, but a new sanctuary could be provided in the mountains if only they can retrieve their laser drill from their downed spacecraft, still stuck at the bottom of the dead lake in the Forbidden Zone…

“Escape from Ape City” feels very much like a re-imagination of the middle section of the 1968 original film, and the early section of its first sequel, 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes. 

Specifically, the story here involves an astronaut from the 20^th century coming into the custody of Zira and Cornelius, and their dedicated efforts to help him escape.  In the film, Taylor was “Bright Eyes” and here Bill is, similarly, “Blue Eyes.”

At least Taylor didn’t have to reckon with General Urko, however, and here Bill must also contend with that power-hungry military leader, as Brent did in Beneath.  In both scenarios, the ranking ape general is rounding-up all captured humans for use in military training or war game exercises.  Also, one of the most intriguing parts of this episode involves Zaius decision to dole the humanoids out to various interest groups and locations, including pet shops, labor camps, and even a nature preserve.  As Zaius makes his decision, the episode cuts to a montage revealing each locale he describes. We see a humanoid woman sitting in a pet shop window, for instance. 

In a splendid bit of continuity between original film and animated re-imagination, Zira suggests in “Escape from Ape City” using the “Hopkins Manual Dexterity Test” on Hudson; something her corollary also suggested in the 1968 Schaffner production.  Another faithful touch: in the spirit of Ursus, Urko declares in this episode that the only good human is a “caged” or “dead” one.  Ursus spoke an almost identical line (“the only good human is a dead human”) during his rabble-rousing speech in Beneath.

Although a retread of so much familiar material from the Apes mythos, this second episode proves worthwhile mainly because of the close-up detail it provides on the Council of Elders in the “Simian Nation,” as well as that body’s motivations.  Dr. Zaius heads this governing council, which is populated by orangutans, and reports here the reason for the edict regarding the extermination of all mankind, should even a single man prove himself capable of speech. 

In particular, Zaius reveals the history of the planet: that mankind rose to prominence on Earth but then destroyed himself and nearly the entire planet with him before his fall to utter barbarism. The apes now live in fear that if man once again becomes intelligent, the whole world is at risk.  This information “humanizes” Dr. Zaius and his ilk since it explains the reasons for ape fear regarding mankind.  Damningly, you can’t say the apes don’t have a cause for concern.

“Escape from Ape City” also features the weird verbal quirk of every character calling humans “humanoids,” which seems like a misnomer.  Aren’t the apes also, technically, humanoid?  Perhaps the series creators changed the moniker “human” to “humanoid” in anticipation of the Under Dwellers, another human-like enemy depicted in upcoming episodes.

The tail end of “Escape from Ape City” also clearly points to a plot-line of future importance.  The astronauts need a device -- a laser drill -- from their ship, and will attempt to recover it.

But first, we meet the Under Dwellers in the next installment: “The Unearthly Prophecy.”

Go Ape Week: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Flames of Doom"

Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) is a Saturday morning TV program developed for television by David De Patrie and Fritz Freleng.  It assimilates and re-invents characters, plot lines, devices and technology from all previous incarnations of the once-popular franchise, including the Pierre Boulle novel, the 1968 film and sequels (Beneath, in particular), and even the short-lived 1974 live-action TV series.

The result is an invigorating shot in the arm for the franchise. I hadn’t watched these half-hour episodes for something like thirty-five years, but re-discovering them on DVD, I was shocked and pleased at how attentive and committed to details (and to an overall story arc) this animated series remains.

Because frankly the buzz from the old genre press wasn’t good. Going back to Fantastic Television a reference book from 1977 that I've always adored, the author writes in a summary review of the NBC series that it “was a not very exciting animated version of the short-lived CBS live-action series,” and that the artwork and plots were “simplistic.” (page 177).  The comment about the art work is correct, and yet some times "simplistic" can also mean...interesting.  Once you get used to it, the design of the cartoon series is actually pretty terrific, at least in a baroque kind of way.

The premiere episode of Return to the Planet of the Apes, “Flames of Doom,” (by Larry Spiegel), finds a NASA space capsule called the “Venture” traveling on a routine deep space mission on August 6, 1976.

Aboard are three astronauts: Bill Hudson (a white man), Jeff Allen (an African-American man) and Judy Franklin (a woman).

Bill narrates the captain’s log and confirms Dr. Stanton’s theory of “time thrust;” that man can utilize faster-than-light speeds to propel himself into the future. Admirers of the 1968 film will recognize this comment as a reflection of Chuck Heston’s opening narration, and Dr. Hasslein’s theory named there. It’s been simplified for children in this cartoon, but the idea is identical.

No sooner has Hudson informed us about this scientific theory than the ship’s chronometer goes wild and the Venture literally plunges into a time warp. The “Earth Clock” goes crazy, and the Venture arrives battered and bruised in the year 3979, where it crashes on a strange planet, and into a dead lake.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the surface  – in a city ruled by intelligent apes – General Urko, a gorilla power-monger, addresses the Supreme Council of Ape City and demands genocide against all humans.

Arguing the opposite case is the kindly chimpanzee Cornelius, who pleads for a “different course.” He and his wife, a behavioral scientist named Zira, wish to study humans as the key to “simian origins.” Arbitrating this dispute of national importance is the ruler of the apes, an orangutan named Dr. Zaius.

I must note that the level of attention to detail in this scene is remarkable.  For as Zaius issues his decision on the matter at hand, the edit cuts to a stone relief on the wall behind him which reveals the long history of ape-human relations. There are images of apes hunting humans and even domesticating them.

Humans may be hunted as legitimate sport, Zaius concludes, or brought into the city to perform “menial tasks.” They may even serve as domestic pets, but Zaius will not demand their total destruction.

However, on an ominous note, he warns that Article 18 of the “Book of Simian Prophecy” demands that man must be destroyed at any cost if he develops the power of speech. In other words, this is a temporary victory for Cornelius’s cause, and for the primitive, mute, stone-age humans who populate caves outside the technologically advanced ape-city.

Watching this portion of the episode, a few matters become plain. First and foremost, the franchise has returned to the ape society as depicted in Boulle’s original novel. In other words, the apes dwell in a twentieth century city with television, radio, automobiles and the like.

Their city is not a rock-outcropping like in the popular original movie, but rather a contemporary metropolis with buildings and skyscrapers that resemble those from human history in a wonderful nod to the adage “monkey see, monkey do.” The ape culture of the original film was almost medieval, despite the presence of guns and such medical advances as brain surgery. Not so here.

For instance, the imposing ape council building resembles nothing so much as our own Capitol Building where Congress deliberates when it isn't shutdown. Since this is a re-imagination and updating of Planet of the Apes for the mid-1970s, not only is there the burgeoning nod to gender and racial diversity (this was the era of the equal rights amendment...) in the make-up of the astronauts, but the focus on the Council and its proceedings reveals a more bureaucratic bent to the apes.

Instead of ape culture being essentially of one mind (as in the see-no-evil/hear-no-evil/speak-no-evil triumvirate of the Schaffner film showcases), here Ape society is bedeviled by partisan politics, with chimpanzees representing the pacifist left, gorillas the militant right, and orangutans the sensible center. This is especially important considering the context of Return to the Planet of the Apes: immediately post-Watergate and soon after the Vietnam conflict. Again, this is an example of updating and changing a franchise, but not throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Continuing with the story, Bill, Jeff (voiced by Austin Stoker of Battle for the Planet of the Apes and Assault on Precinct 13), and Judy abandon their sinking spaceship and flee into the Forbidden Zone. Recalling the portions of the original film shot in Death Valley, the series offers an artistic montage here as the three astronauts search for water and food under the glaring sun of what they believe is an alien world.

The animated frames turn a bright scarlet hue to represent the heat of the desert and there are close-ups of human faces caked in sweat. Close-ups of tired feet marching in the sand also appear. This montage doesn’t rely on dialogue, but rather on clever images that express an emotion.

The animation is limited perhaps, even crude but these limitations are marshaled as a strength on the program. Overlapping views, double exposures, intense close-ups, insert shots and first person subjective point-of-view shots all provide a texture to the desperate march through the wasteland.

This march ends, appropriately, with the sighting of an Ape Mount Rushmore. Another new touch, but again one that along with the ape metropolis reveals the ape talent for mimicry (monkey see, monkey do) and is therefore thematically valuable; a subconscious reminder that all of the simian accomplishments are built on “aping” human society.

Later episodes go further with this idea, visiting "The Tomb of the Unknown Ape" or mentioning the famous author, William Apespeare.  One episode, "Invasion of the Underdwellers," even casts eyes on -- at least briefly -- a simian Mona Lisa.

In the desert, Jeff and Bill lose Judy when fires spontaneously erupts in front of them, and an earthquake splits the ground in a series of lovely frames that reveal a high degree of fidelity to images from Beneath the Planet of the Apes (particularly Taylor’s abduction by the underground mutants).

The astronauts have little time to ponder the loss of their companion, however, as Bill and Jeff encounter a tribe of stone age humans, including the beautiful Nova.

Suggesting an interesting mystery, Nova wears the dog tags of another astronaut, someone named Brent (again, a reference to Beneath the Planet of the Apes). His birth date was May 2, 2079, so Jeff and Bill are forced to ponder the notion that an astronaut who was born after them arrived on the planet of the apes before they did. Boggles the mind, no? This is a pretty advanced concept for a kid’s show, and it also provides an underlying mystery for adults to enjoy. Where is Brent? What happened to him?

Before long, the apes arrive, on the hunt,  in tanks, jeeps and with heavy artillery. The gorillas even lob gas grenades at the primitive humans. Here, the series utilizes zooms inside individual frames (not actual motion, but rather camera motion…) to suggest the frenetic pace of the hunt. Jeff and Bill are separated, and Bill is captured and taken to Ape City.

That’s where the first episode ends, but already, the attentive viewer can detect how this canny re-imagination assimilates the critical aspects of the Planet of the Apes mythos with something akin to 20/20 hindsight.

Instead of making up the saga as it goes (a deficit of the otherwise outstanding motion picture series…), Return to the Planet of the Apes accounts for -- from the very beginning -- the mutants in the Forbidden Zone (here termed “The Underdwellers.”) It also employs familiar characters in new ways and in  new situations, and even incorporates movie imagery to vet the story. 

In terms of characters, Urko derives from Mark Lenard’s character on the 1974 TV series. In Beneath, a similar character was known as “Ursus.” He is essentially the same ape here, as are Zira and Cornelius, but Dr. Zaius has changed the most.

Zaius is no longer a hypocritical religious zealot, but rather an equalizing force of moderation in Ape Society…almost heroic, actually.

“The free ape is he who does not fear to go to the end of his thought,” he even states; an ideal that the movie’s “chief defender of the faith” could never get behind.

This is actually a significant structural change as well as a symbolic representation of the left/right divide in our culture. Why? Because with Zaius moderating pacifists and war-mongers, we can more logically believe that humans (particularly the astronauts) can continue to escape and outmaneuver a technologically advanced simian culture. The whole planet isn’t out to kill them; they do have allies.  Dr. Zaius is even referred to by his enemies, the Underdwellers, as being "just...for an ape," and again, this is a sea change in the character's depiction.

From the original Planet of the Apes movie, “Flames of Doom” also incorporates other powerful visuals. We see the ape scarecrows on the border of the Forbidden Zone again, and, on a connected note, hear the same gorilla “hunt” horn on the soundtrack. We see a small, yellow rubber raft and a U.S. flag planted in the Forbidden Zone too, as well as the discovery of a first green plant indicating life on the fringe of the desert.

Again, the approach here seems to be to this: take what worked in the apes movie, book and TV series, and then put them all together in a more coherent, cohesive story, smoothing out the bumps and making everything jibe.

That’s important, because long time Planet of the Apes fans will remember some of the more dramatic gaps fouling continuity in the film series. In Planet of the Apes, for instance, it is the year 3978 when Taylor arrives, but when Brent arrives on his heels in the follow-up, Beneath, it is magically 3955.

Similarly, there are discrepancies between Escape and Conquest in the story of how the apes ascended to superiority in man’s world. Cornelius’s story involves an ape named Aldo (whom we meet in Battle), but does not take into account the true ape revolutionary, Caesar.  Coming at essentially the end of the apes cycle, Return to the Planet of the Apes benefits from knowing everything that came before.

Indeed, this is the only valid reason for the re-imagination of a franchise. Taking what worked in one production and maintaining it; and taking what didn’t work and improving upon it.  It must be done, however, with a degree of love, patience and restraint involving the material. I feel like I see all that here.

Notice that there is not merely change for the sake of change; that characters have not miraculously switched sexes, and whole swaths of mythology have not been removed or altered to suit a developer"s ego, or need to be "creative."

What I’m suggesting is that fundamentally there is a respect in evidence here for the the productions that came before, for the Apes mythos. So yes, a re-imagination can work, and this dedicated animated series is one example, at least in its first chapter, where it did so.

None of this means, however, that Return to the Planet of the Apes doesn't sometimes lapse into childishness and silliness.  The series was made, after all, to air on Saturday mornings in the 1970s.  The intended demographic was young children. This factor plays out in some funny ways throughout the series.

Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Battle of the Titans" (November 8, 1975)

In “Battle of the Titans” -- the final episode of Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) -- a desperate General Urko attempts to regain power in Ape City, while the astronauts and Zira and Cornelius take the opportunity to bring peace to the planet of the apes.

In particular, Cornelius and Bill return to the icy mountain where they stashed the book “A Day at the Zoo,” which revealed intelligent 20^th century humans and primitive apes in zoos.

After recovering the text, the astronauts and the pacifist chimps prepare to present the book to the Ape Senate…and to change a planet in the process.

Although Return to the Planet of the Apes sometimes succumbs to childish story-telling instincts (and does so again in this final episode…), I nonetheless have great appreciation for the animated series because the characters and situations don’t remain locked in stasis.  The episodes aren’t interchangeable, and character and story arcs are, actually, present.

To wit, the humanoids rescue their companion, Judy, from the Underdwellers during the course of the series.  They also find the other human astronaut, Brent.   They acquire a weapon with which to defend the primitive humanoids in the form of a World War II fighter plane.  Additionally, Urko attempts to seize power from Zaius, and then ultimately loses it. 

And finally, in “Battle of the Titans,” the series ends with the suggestion of another tectonic shift; a chapter notably consisting of hope.  In particular, the series comes to an end with Cornelius preparing to reveal the truth about Earth’s history (and evolved man…) to the Ape City Government.  The series thus culminates with the belief that humans and apes working together “can change the history of the planet…peacefully.”

That’s a huge shift from the beginning of the series (and the other installments in the movie and TV franchise), and away from Dr. Zaius’s admonition to Zira and Cornelius that even the mere idea of intelligent human beings is enough to warrant the genocide of the humanoids. 

But the animated series has traveled some distance since that statement of principle, and some of that mileage includes Urko’s power grab.  It is now entirely believable that the time has come for change, and peace, and that many apes would be open to the notion.

So “Battle of the Titans,” and Return to the Planet of the Apes truly end on a note of strength.  

Commendably, this episode also features much continuity with previous episodes.  We return to the Buddhist Apes and mountaintop settings of “Terror on Ice Mountain,” and once more encounter the squawking, flying monster from “Attack from the Clouds.” 

Again, this is a commendable and intelligent approach to children’s programming, though, finally, watching a giant ape -- Kygor -- and a giant bird duke it out hardly seems like the appropriate territory of a Planet of the Apes series.  This kind of monster fight, in lieu of more solid science fiction concepts, is the kind of thing that keep the series from reaching a level of universal approbation, I feel.   The fights are repetitious and not that interesting, and they eat up precious screen time that could have been utilized to further wrap-up dangling plot threads, or deepen characters.

Still, it’s important to remember that this series aired in 1975, when concepts of story arcs and serialized television series were not fully formed, let alone for Saturday morning kid’s show. 

There are some franchise fans who prefer the cartoon series to the live-action series, and that’s because, I believe, Return to the Planet of the Apes actually shows momentum, movement and growth, whereas the live-action series -- as much as I enjoy it -- seems stalled forever on ideas of capture/escape, with very little new or original occurring episode to episode.

So in its own way, and with a few caveats for the nature of the thing (as a kid’s show), Return to the Planet of the Apes is a real triumph for the franchise, and I’m sorry to see that it didn’t lead into a second season.  I would have loved to see the next chapter of the saga…

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975): "Invasion of the Underdwellers" (November 1, 1975)

In “Invasion of the Underdwellers,” Ape City suffers a number of robberies of precious historical artifacts and objects, including Zira’s precious first edition of the collected works of William Apespeare.

Eyewitnesses report to the Ape Council that the Under Dwellers are responsible, but the real culprit is General Urko.  He plans to use the robberies as an excuse to invade Under Dweller territory and start a war.

The astronauts, meanwhile, learn from Krador, leader of the Under Dwellers, that Urko has stashed the valuable items in the Tomb of the Unknown Ape, on the outskirts of the city.

The astronauts inform Zira, Cornelius, and eventually Dr. Zaius, about Urko’s involvement, and after a confrontation with a barge, the gorilla is suspended from duty without pay for his egregious mis-use of power…

Something intriguing and unusual happens in “Invasion of the Underdwellers.”  The series’ villain, Urko, actually faces consequences for his behavior.  

While many other animated series of the same era exist in a kind of permanent status quo -- where no change occurs, season after season -- Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) permits for characters to react meaningfully to the changes that occur in their lives.  In this case, Dr. Zaius acts reasonably when he learns of Urko’s misdeeds.  He suspends the guy without pay, and demands he deliver a TV apology to the ape-nation.

This is an important development, and it sets in motion the events that occur throughout the remainder of the series.  It’s also a nice bow to realism.  In real life, Urko wouldn’t be able to get away with rank corruption and insubordination again and again without someone at least taking notice, or reprimanding him.  Fact is, he probably would have been replaced because of his sheer incompetence long before this particular installment.

Another aspect of this episode that seems realistic: a man (or ape) in power trying to forward his agenda by misleading a nation into war.  In this case, Urko gins up fear of the Under Dwellers to make the populace pliable, and even fosters outrage by jeopardizing treasures of ape heritage.  Once such primitive emotions are engaged, the war machine is not easy to stop, and we have certainly seen such things happen in our own history.

The only aspect of the episode that plays a little goofy to me is this notion that all Ape works of art have the word “ape” in them.  

Like the Ape-a-Lisa (Mona Lisa), or the works of Apespeare (Shakespeare).  An earlier episode featured a popular movie called The Apefather (The Godfather), and this notion has always seemed odd to me.  I mean, we don’t go around putting the word “human” or “man” in front of everything. 

It just seems…silly.

Next week, Urko makes one last power play, and an era of sweeping change starts on the planet of the apes…

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Mission of Mercy" (November 1, 1975)

In “Mission of Mercy,” a number of crises strike all at once for the astronauts.  

First, the World War II airplane that Bill, Jeff and Judy have been utilizing to defend the humanoid pueblo city runs perilously low on aviation fuel, meaning another dangerous foray to Ape City for supplies.

Meanwhile -- and even as General Urko searches “New Valley” for the humanoid populace -- Nova falls gravely ill from an illness in her lungs which is highly contagious.  

Unless a serum can be acquired, Nova will die, and the rest of the humanoids, including the astronauts, will follow..

This week’s episode of Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) actually concerns a pretty good idea, and one which has re-surfaced in the pop-culture in The Walking Dead. Specifically, after the fall of human civilization, the survivors will fall prey to diseases and illnesses once conquered by modern medicine…but now once more grave threats.   Talk about having to swallow a bitter pill!  In this case, Nova nearly succumbs to a treatable disease, and Judy must make a dangerous trek to Ape City to get help from Zira and Cornelius.

Despite the interesting concept, the execution of it leaves something to be desired. In particular, Judy -- an astronaut capable of flying spaceships and even World War II war planes -- doesn’t know about serums and how they work.   No doubt, her ignorance is a result of the writers wanting to explain the topic to young audiences.  But still, it's handled pretty poorly.

Beyond this hard-to-swallow aspect of the episode, “Mission of Mercy” is mostly an action-oriented episode, with the astronauts struggling to beat the clock and once more save the day.  Bill and Jeff must cross a rickety bridge in a truck, just as it collapses.  And then their truck breaks down…in a lightning storm.  Suffice it to say that a lot of obstacles get thrown up against the astronauts as they struggle to hold onto the one advantage they have (the war plane), and keep Nova alive at the same time.

In some sense, the focus on action is true to the Apes film franchise, but the five movies alternated serious action with cerebral science fiction concepts (like infinite regression) and a sub-text about racism and religious zealotry.  As a cartoon series aimed for kids, Return to the Planet of the Apes doesn’t quite rise to that level, but “Mission of Mercy” seems a bit more pedestrian, even, than other installments. 

Also, it’s getting a little difficult to believe that Zira and Cornelius can go out into the wilderness outside of Ape City on yet another mission to help the humanoids, and not get caught either by Urko or Dr. Zaius.  The pacifist chimps take big risks in every episode, and with no repercussions.

Next week: “Invasion of the Underdwellers.”

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Attack from the Clouds" (October 25, 1975)

“Attack from the Clouds” is a bit of a step backwards for Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975).

The last few episodes of the series have been pushing the overall narrative forward by leaps and bounds. And though this story continues the story arc involving the stolen World War II warplane, the episode stalls-out, and is heavy on stock footage and an uninspiring, childish threat.

In “Attack from the Clouds,” a giant prehistoric bird threatens the humanoids of New Valley, repeatedly attacking their livestock and generating terror.

The astronauts -- Bill, Jeff, Judy and Brent – realize they need the warplane to fight the giant predator, but risk being spotted by Urko, who still wants his weapon of war back…

The worst and most juvenile moments of Return to the Planet of the Apes have universally involved our heroes (the astronauts) facing giant monsters and over-grown animals.

So far, the protagonists faced giant spiders in the sewers of Ape City, swooping bats (in daylight, no less…) in last week’s episode, sea monsters (“Lagoon of Peril”), and so on.  Fortunately, these moments of “monster threats” have mostly occurred in passing, and almost never dominated whole half-hours.

Until now, anyway.

Here, the giant bird is the designated threat of the week, and the elephant in the room.  The entirety of “Attack from the Clouds” seems dominated by repeat images of the bird in flight (its fierce talons threatening livestock…) while on the soundtrack, annoying squawks are endlessly re-played.  This will drive the adult viewer crazy in a matter of minutes.

The giant bird makes for a dull central menace, and the stock footage of the creature -- seen again and again -- makes the episode play as absolutely interminable.  Worst of all, the creature survives at the end of the episode, meaning that he could come back!

On the other hand, this is another episode of Return to the Planet of the Apes that I remember as a child, and I must note that I loved it as a kid (the presumed audience for the series). I still remember playing with a black rubber eagle from G.I. Joe and pretending that it and a model warplane were locked in a brutal air war, while my Planet of the Apes figures looked on.

Next week: “Mission of Mercy.”

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Trail to the Unknown" (October 18, 1975)

In “Trail to the Unknown,” Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975) at last begins to explore many of its long-gestating plot-lines.  

The episode continues the story of the World War II plane stolen by the human astronauts, but it also connects Bill, Judy and Jeff with Ron Brent, the astronaut from 2109 who landed on the planet of the apes years two decades before they did.

Here, we meet the older Brent and see his wrecked spaceship in the desert.  Unlike Bill, Judy and Jeff, however, he has never tangled with the apes.  Instead, Brent has built a life for himself, of sorts, in the arid Forbidden Zone for twenty years.  From this point forward, however, Brent is a series regular, and helps the other astronauts protect the primitive humanoids.

In “Trail to the Unknown,” Bill, Judy and Jeff move the endangered humanoids to “New Valley” in an attempt to escape Urko’s patrols.  Urko is still in search of the warplane the astronauts stole in “Screaming Wings," and will stop at nothing to re-acquire it.

The astronauts come across Brent in the Forbidden Zone, and he leads them to a spot in the valley where the astronauts can, using their recovered laser drill, build a pueblo for the primitive humans.

I don’t know if cancellation was in the air at this point and so there was a push to start resolving plot lines, but the creators of Return to the Planet of the Apes demonstrate in "Trail to the Unknown" their willingness to move beyond the status quo that dominated early episodes.  In recent programs, for instance, we have seen the Under Dwellers become allies with the astronauts, the return of Judy, and the coup attempt by Urko (and Zaius’s response).  Here we meet Brent, a character hasn’t been mentioned since the very first episode of the series.

What’s nice about this is that the overall narrative finally has some momentum, and the series seems to be regrouping and heading in a fresh direction.  By episode’s end, the astronauts -- now teamed with Brent--have built a defensible home for the humanoids.  They also use the plane to destroy a land bridge, preventing Urko from bringing in his heavy artillery.

Overall, “Trail to the Unknown” is an impressive episode of the series, and one that shows real growth in terms of the overall narrative.

Next Week: “Attack from the Clouds.”

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Return to the Planet of the Apes: "Screaming Wings" (October 10, 1975)

The 1975 animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes actually features a story arc of sorts, and this week’s episode, “Screaming Wings” provides the impetus for the next series of episodes.

Specifically, in “Screaming Wings,” General Urko makes his riskiest power-play yet.  He attempts to take power in Ape City away from Dr. Zaius by demonstrating his control over an ancient, World War II warplane.

Fortunately, the humanoids -- Bill, Jeff, and Judy – are able to steal the warplane and prevent Urko’s coup. 

The antique plane itself -- as well as the fall-out from Urko’s coup -- continue to play an important role in the series’ next several episodes.

It is impressive that a Saturday morning cartoon of the mid-1970s should attempt a story arc (which consists of this episode, “Trail to the Unknown” and “Attack from the Clouds”) of the complexity unveiled here.  

Too often in the past, Urko has brazenly crossed the line of disrespect with Dr. Zaius, and it is rewarding that the writers of the series should push past the status quo, and begin to examine what occurs when Zaius responds to the gorilla's outrageous betrayals.

The biggest problem with “Screaming Wings,” however, is the warplane itself. 

On one hand, it doesn’t seem probable that Urko would utilize a weapon that demonstrates to all ape-kind the superiority of the human race.  He would at least put on a show, it seems, that this is an APE weapon, newly developed.

On the other hand, it also seems entirely unlikely that  the ape civilization as dramatized in this animated series would not possess warplanes of its own at this juncture in its history.

Everything we have seen of the ape culture up to this episode points to a culture that is roughly equivalent to America in the 1940s – 1950s.  

The Apes have television broadcasts, hand-held walkie-talkies, machine guns, electricity, and even a burgeoning film culture (“The Apefather,” remember?)  

America developed flight in the early years of the twentieth century, and had warplanes like the one seen in “Screaming Wings” by the early 1940s.  So the apes -- at this point -- should certainly have at least begun to experiment with planes and flight.

Funnily, one future episode, “Attack from the Clouds” also shows that the apes have radar devices.  Why would they have radar if they don’t have planes to fly?!

In spite of such problems, “Screaming Winds” is worthwhile because Zaius -- finally -- is moved off his butt to combat the power-hungry Urko. He initiates an investigation of Urko’s competence to lead the Ape military, and such action is long overdue.

Next week: “Trail to the Unknown.”