Cawhorn's Cellar #1
Rey Don'tsay, the blog's Saturday Guy, is away on medical leave. Guest bloggers are helping us out until Rey is ready to return. Today we start a new series of posts by Mr. jeff Cawhorn, who always has something interesting to say about the state of pop culture as we all experience it.
I've been watching the TV version of "Planet of the Apes." I don't remember this program. It ran from September to December 1974, before being yanked. They only aired 13 of the 14 episodes filmed, but the last one is on the DVD version if you are a completist. Or a masochist.
The first episode (Escape from Tomorrow) apes (pun intended) the movie. In it, the three astronauts crash on a planet but one of them does not survive. The other two are quickly captured by the ruling apes and brought before Doctor Zaius.
They manage to escape and Galen (Roddy McDowall) joins them for reasons that are not made clear. The intrepid trio is on the run, much like the plots of "The Fugitive" or "The Immortal." They have something that looks like a subway token that might be exactly what's needed to make their way home. Mark Lenard, who played Sarek in "Star Trek," is in the role of the main gorilla in charge of the escapees' capture.
There are other notable character actors who found work in the "Escape from Tomorrow" episode. As for the other 13? I won't criticize each episode because why bother? Each plot line is mostly the same: the astronauts almost get caught, then they get away.
I will say that the costumes in the CBS television version aren't the same as in the films. Very cheap-looking. I also wonder why a society that has rifles can't produce other Industrial Age products. The ape planet's architecture seems to be borrowed from "The Flintstones."
All in all, this 1974 TV series is very tiresome, but I think I'll keep watching it just for the snark.
CAWHORN'S CELLAR
I've been watching the TV version of "Planet of the Apes." I don't remember this program. It ran from September to December 1974, before being yanked. They only aired 13 of the 14 episodes filmed, but the last one is on the DVD version if you are a completist. Or a masochist.
The first episode (Escape from Tomorrow) apes (pun intended) the movie. In it, the three astronauts crash on a planet but one of them does not survive. The other two are quickly captured by the ruling apes and brought before Doctor Zaius.
They manage to escape and Galen (Roddy McDowall) joins them for reasons that are not made clear. The intrepid trio is on the run, much like the plots of "The Fugitive" or "The Immortal." They have something that looks like a subway token that might be exactly what's needed to make their way home. Mark Lenard, who played Sarek in "Star Trek," is in the role of the main gorilla in charge of the escapees' capture.
There are other notable character actors who found work in the "Escape from Tomorrow" episode. As for the other 13? I won't criticize each episode because why bother? Each plot line is mostly the same: the astronauts almost get caught, then they get away.
I will say that the costumes in the CBS television version aren't the same as in the films. Very cheap-looking. I also wonder why a society that has rifles can't produce other Industrial Age products. The ape planet's architecture seems to be borrowed from "The Flintstones."
All in all, this 1974 TV series is very tiresome, but I think I'll keep watching it just for the snark.
Here's video of the show promo:
I remember these, at least vaguely. I remember that they got Roddy McDowell to play yet another ape, which at the time seemed like a big deal, though in retrospect (via his IMDB listings) it appears he wasn't saying "no" to any offer of work. I also remember it being on Friday nights at 8. I can't recall how many of them I ended up watching.
ReplyDeleteBy that point we'd had all five of the films, where by the fifth one the budget had dropped to almost the standards seen in this show. Still, as with anything that had been successful, there's some exec who'll insist on trying to furiously pump the well for one more pay-off.
The combination of Sanford and Son and Chico and the Man, filling that same 8-9pm slot on Friday nights, helped keep the Apes ratings low enough that it was cancelled 45 years ago yesterday.