Battle of the Planets - Childrens TV

Battle of the Planets Battle of the Planets is a 70’s children’s TV cartoon, which came along and opened your eyes to Space and the Universe. You wanted to become a member of the greatest space hero's - G-FORCE. This series was made by Sandy Frank Productions in America, but it wasn't as simple as its sounds. You see, it wasn't a new cartoon, oh no, it was a Japanese cartoon called - Gatchman. It wasn't like any of the cartoons that were being shown in the west. It was violent, people got killed and was generally more adult. So in stepped Sandy Frank and he bought the series, but he couldn't show this adult cartoon to millions of children. They renamed it 'Battle of the Planets' (and most of the characters), then they set about taking sections of the series and cutting out most of the violence and creating new episodes (85 episodes). To get around some of the cuts that they had made, they introduced a new character called 7- ZARK-7. He would explain what missions they were on or how far they had got, so knitting the storyline together. They added some extra footage of the G-Force team relaxing in Centre Neptune (remember them playing table tennis) and meeting Zark, but the quality of this animation was not up to the standard of the Japanese version. And so Battle of the Planets was born, with the words : “G-Force! Princess... Tiny... Keyop... Mark... Jason... - and watching over them from Centre Neptune their computerised co-ordinator 7-Zark-7! Watching, Warning, against surprise attacks by alien galaxies beyond space! Fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy... Always five, acting as one... Dedicated, Inseparable, Invincible!” Story G-Force was a team of people - Mark, Jason, Princess, Tiny, Keyop (headed by Chief Anderson) who protected Earth's Galaxy from the evil of Planet Spectra. Their base was Centre Neptune, a submerged base that housed their space ship - The Phoenix. This is also where 7-Zark-7 lived and looked after the G-Force team. The rulers of Planet Spectra wanted to take over this galaxy, as it had done to others, and rule. The trouble was G-Force stood in its way. An evil minion called Zoltar was put in charge of causing chaos, destroying installations and generally trying to kill G-Force. Each member of G-Force had small Cerebonic implants, which gave them superhuman strengths. They could Transmute from their normal everyday appearance, to their G-Force costume / strengths. This was done by saying the word - 'Transmute' and moving their arm, using a sort of G- Force wrist watch infront of them, and in a blaze of colour they would have changed into their G-Force Outfits (cool eh? I could do with one of those to get dressed in the morning!). But it wasn't just outfits, it was the machines they used too (eg. a plane into a G-Force fighter). Also the Phoenix could be turned into the Fiery Phoenix, which as the name suggests - into a fiery bird that could go through anything, anywhere (but only as a last resort). Each member also had their own type of transport. Battle of the Planets Characters Mark (voiced by Casey Kasem) Mark is the leader of G-Force. He is sensible and level headed and nearly always makes the right choice. Jason (voiced Ronnie Schell) Jason is second in command of G-Force and resents Mark and the way he does things. Jason wants act first and to think about the consequences later. He is also one of the best racing drivers on the planet. Princess (voiced by Janet Waldo) Princess is the only female member of G-Force. She keeps an eye on all the team members. She has a crush on Mark and wears very short skirts / dresses (and she flashes her white knickers quite a few times). Tiny (voiced by Alan Dinehart) Tiny is the Pilot of the Phoenix and wishes he could go on some of the adventures / missions that the others go on, instead of flying the Phoenix. He also loves Hamburgers. Keyop (voiced by Alan Young) Keyop was manufactured in an Cerebonic Lab from a single cell. Maybe something went wrong in the process, because he speaks very strangely. He maybe small, but he still has superhuman strengths. Zoltar (voiced by Keye Luke) Zoltar is G-Force's Nemesis. He is always plotting the downfall of G- Force so that Spectra (the orginisation he works for) can take over the galaxy. Zoltar is not what he seems, as in the Japanese version he is unmasked and has the face/body of a woman (a hermaphrodite). Chief Anderson (voiced by Alan Dinehart) Back at Centre Neptune, Chief Anderson is always trying to be one step ahead of Spectra. He is the head of G-Force. 7-Zark-7 (voiced by Alan Young) 7-Zark-7 monitors the galaxy from Centre Neptune and help G-Force with any intelligence he can find. He has a thing for Susan (who we never see). 1-Rover-1 1-Rover-1 is a companion for 7-Zark-7. He loves to fly using his tail and munches on spanners. Battle of the Planets - Transmute

Battle of the Planets Images (click to enlarge)

Battle of the Planets Episodes Series 1 (1979) 1. Attack of the Space Terrapin 2. Rescue of the Astronauts 3. The Space Mummy 4. The Space Serpent 5. Ghost Ship of Planet Mir 6. Big Robot Gold Grab 7. Ace From Outer Space 8. Fearful Sea Anemone 9. Jupiter Moon Menace 10. A Swarm of Robot Ants 11. Space Rocket Escort 12. Beast With A Sweet Tooth 13. Perilous Pleasure Cruise 14. The Thing With 1,000 Eyes 15. Microfilm Mystery 16. The Alien Beetles 17. A Whale Joins G-Force 18. Mad New Ruler of Spectra 19. The Sea Dragon 20. Magnetic Attraction 21. The Musical Mummy 22. The Fiery Lava Giant 23. The Bat-Ray Bombers 24. Race Against Disaster 25. The Ghostly Grasshopper 26. The Galaxy Girls 27. Curse of the Cuttlefish, Part I 28. Curse of the Cuttlefish, Part II 29. Demons of the Desert 30. Siege of the Squids 31. Orion, Wonderdog of Space 32. The Fierce Flowers, Part I 33. The Fierce Flowers, Part II 34. The Space Rock Concert 35. Prisoners In Space 36. Victims of the Hawk 37. Raid on Riga 38. Seals of Sytron 39. Giant Gila Monster 40. The Capture of the Galaxy Code 41. Raid On A Nearby Planet 42. Keyop Does It All 43. Peaks of Planet Odin 44. The Sky Is Falling, Part I 45. The Sky Is Falling, Part II 46. Raid of the Red Scorpion 47. Mammoth Shark Menace 48. Fastest Gun In the Galaxy 49. Giant From Planet Zyr 50. Secret Island 51. Giant Space Bat 52. Attack of the Alien Wasp 53. Decoys of Doom 54. Zoltar Strikes Out 55. The Great Brain Robbery 56. Raid of the Space Octopus 57. Silent City 58. Peril In the Pyramids 59. Rage of the Robotoids 60. The Alien Bigfoot 61. Invasion of the Locusts 62. Space Safari 63. Museum of Mystery 64. Peril of the Preying Mantis 65. The Awesome Ray Force 66. The Duplicate King 67. Defector To Spectra 68. Panic of the Peacock 69. Mission to Inner Space 70. Spectra Space Spider 71. Super Space Spies 72. Cupid Does It To Keyop 73. Tentacles From Space 74. Island of Fear 75. The Awesome Armadillo 76. Invasion of Space Center, Part I 77. Invasion of Space Center, Part II 78. Save the Space Colony 79. Charioteers of Changu 80. Vacation On Venus 81. Rockets Out of Control 82. G-Force Defector 83. Strike At Spectra 84. G-Force In the Future 85. Conway Tape Tap