IMDb > "Battle of the Planets" (1978) > IMDb user comments
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12 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
A classic!, 16 December 2000
Author: Jay Stuler (stuler.1@osu.edu) from Ohio

Wow, what happened to cartoons like this one?? This certainly wasn't the best in anime-ish art, nor did it have a particularly great plot. So why did we love it? Somehow, it tapped perfectly into the mind of a 6-12 year old! As someone who still watches cartoons (shhh..don't tell!) I look back at these types of cartoons and wish they still made them in America. It seems sad to me that kids today do not have these kinds of fun entertainment to wake up to on Saturday morning. Just about everyone I know who is my age remembers this cartoon and others like it with fond memories! Just say to anyone in their late 20's.."Hey do you remember G-Force? The cartoon with the guys in spacesuits that look like birds?" and you will surely get: "Oh yeah!!..." and probably a story of how when THEY were a kid, cartoons were good! Maybe it's just nostalgia, or maybe I'm just getting old and cranky, I don't know. I just wish they still had cartoons like this.

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9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Great big slices of American cheese!, 23 November 2000
Author: Ian D. McArdell (imcardell@another.co.uk) from London, England

Having run madly around the school playground as a member of G-Force, I have fond memories of this series. I was lucky enough to discover some UK re-runs recently and I must say it doesn't disappoint. This had to be one of the most bizarre cartoon series ever. Sub-anime cartoon action, with a core of good Vs evil morality and a strange taste in feathery superhero costumes.

Basically, our five brave orphan heroes spend their day chilling and waiting to be called into action - when they are, it's off in the Phoenix zap about and save our galaxy from another lacklustre take-over attempt by Spectra - embodied be the Evil Zoltar.

Intros from soothing robot narrator 7-Zark-7 (and his robot dog 1-Rover-1) push the plots along, and somehow our heroes save the day by flying about a bit, throwing some banter about and coaxing this weeks traitor back to the good guys before wherever they are explodes. Zoltar then promptly escapes to pester the good peoples of Earth and her colonies another day.

You will not find a better example of 70's haircuts, camp villains, naff plots and creaky cold-war style American morality. It's a winner!

A few things to treasure... One: All the computers still work on ticker-tape in the future... fantastic! Two: Camp bad-guy Zoltar not only had all the best lines, but some of the most fulsome lips in the cartoon universe. Three: Possibly the most melodramatic opening spiel in tevevision history (even beats the A-team!) Four: 7-Zark-7's ongoing romance with 'Susan' the sexy computer voice that delivered the mission at the start of the show.

In the UK, you can catch 'Battle of the Planets' on Bravo, usually in the dead of night. On reflection, perhaps this is a good thing - the children of today might not be able to handle the sheer drama and tension.

And yes, I did have a crush on Princess. And I still do.

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
You really had to be there., 1 April 2002
Author: allen ginsberg is dead from there is no spoon

The animation? Not too bad, considering it was drawn in 1972 or so. But certainly nothing special. The story? Hit and miss, mainly because BotP was made up of edited episodes of the Japanese show Gatchaman (and was therefore missing some key story elements).

So why do people - including me - love this show so much?

Because for almost anyone born between 1970 and 1976 in the US, BotP was one of the key television programs of our youth. It was exciting, exotic and captured our imaginations like nothing else on the tube.

But I think you really had to be there to appreciate it. Neutral observers would probably say that BotP just doesn't hold up after all these years, and if I had to be objective about it, I'd probably have to agree.

Still, you owe it to yourself to give it a look, just so you know what everyone's talking about.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
y'all make me feel so old..., 25 April 2004
Author: Judexdot1 (judexdot1@yahoo.com) from Minneapolis MN USA

Reading the comments here, I felt so old. A recent marathon on "Boomerang" brought me back to my teen years. I was weird, and old enough to remember the original showings of "Astro Boy", "Gigantor", "Kimba, The White Lion", and other early anime on US TV. It had been awhile, and I found this, (this is before even "Star Blazers" or "Robotech"). I was a freshman, (perhaps a sophomore), and this showed up in syndication, pry out of Kansas City. I caught every episode I could. It had obviously seen some editing, yet suprising moments of violence remained now and then. Over the years, I've found that 7-Zark-7/1-Rover-1, were padding to cover time lost when violence was removed, (Mark and Princess's weapons were quite nasty, especially Princess's yo-yo!). I've wandered into the TBS "G-Force" a time or two, and, while potentially truer to the source, it just doesn't have the class of this. The soundtrack is very good, and probably quite desired by fans. It didn't change my life, but it was a fun program to watch often. I hope that the Boomerang marathon, which must contain the whole damn thing, is a sign of it's renewed availability. Japanese animation in America, without the incessant merchandising! Geez, this is before "Transformers", or "Go-Bots"! Nice to see it again!

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Classic Animation, 24 January 2003
Author: wylfyr from New West, Canada

This is classic animation at its best. Compared to todays animation its antiquated. But back in 1978 it was classic. Made in the same Japanese Animation style that brought Speed Racer, its classic and one of the best shows. I miss it and hope that its either released on DVD or re released soon. Bless you internet.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
My favorite show as a kid!, 12 April 2001
Author: Christopher Smith (csmith476@yahoo.com) from Boston, MA

I agree with the previous commentor. At 9 years old I would get up at 6AM to watch G-Force. A few weeks ago, on a whim, I did an internet search on G-Force. I found that the show is soon to be distributed in the US in DVD format come August 2001! Enjoy!

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A great cartoon lost in limbo, 1 January 2000
Author: SJJ (steven3@btinternet.com) from Londaon, England

This was the best cartoon I saw as a child. Alas, with no videos or reruns the chances of anyone seeing it now are rare to say the least. It was edited down from the Japanese anime "Gatchaman" for US kids. While it lost a lot of the storyline and violence it was gifted with one the best theme tunes. While the 1990's remake of Gatchaman is available to buy, it is of nowhere near the quality of the original Gatchaman or Battle of the Planets, lacking the character and incidental score that graced the originals. Looks like Battle of the Planets will just have to live in the fond memories of the millions of school kids that it touched.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
The Original Japanese "Super Team!!", 10 May 2005
Author: hieronymus500 from United States

To all of those who were not even born during its debut in the United States(1978): This cartoon first went on the air in Japan in 1974 under the title "Gatchaman." It was the first cartoon to depict a super powered team. As a matter of fact, it inspired many super team action shows animated or live in Japan. "battle of the planets is the imported version for the American audience in 1978. Although not as violent as the Japanese version, the musical score is fabulous, the continuing storyline is decent, and the voice over acting is good. The animation additions of seven zark seven and one rover one are the only weak points in the scripts.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
japanese import popular in the era of SPEED RACER and STAR BLAZERS, 30 April 2002
Author: ROOK TAMURA (Literaryshootist)

Japanese animation has long been popular in america. With the recent rise in the popularity of POKEMON, I look in on a broadcast trend that usually goes in cycles. (sometimes not) Before the wildly popular POKEMON shows like this blazed a trail. In the late 1970's several shows followed after SPEED RACER in popularity one was this program while another was STAR BLAZERS and yet another the live action SPACE GIANTS. Popular with college students and young children this show was a outer space action series about a 5 person strike force who flew a special aircraft which turned into a flaming phoenix. Redubbed in english, this program ran in the major and lesser tv markets in north america. For US syndicator SANDY FRANK a new title sequence was added along with dialouge using english voice actors, this proved profitable. The appeal of japanese animation is the style of the artwork used and often the contnet. During this era cells were being used but alot of "hand" work still went into them. This proved a alternative to "huckleberry hound" and other popular yet mainstream usa offerings.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
When will the full series be released on DVD?, 16 December 2005
8/10
Author: medic249a2 from Langley, Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This has to be one of the best series ever released in North America! I used to love watching this series when I was in about Grade 3. It came out right on the heels of the original 'Star Wars' which I was addicted to, and this one hooked me.

The 5 G-Force members are supervised by Intergalactic Federation Security Chief Anderson, and directed by 7-Zark-7, a robot who inhabits an underwater defense center appropriately called 'Center Neptune'. Their ship, the Phoenix, is based here. They routinely find themselves up against invading forces from an alien world called Spectra, which wants to enslave Earth & other Federation planets. Spectra is ruled by a dark figure named Zoltar and his boss, the Great Spirit. These two are somewhat similar to the central villains in the first Star Wars trilogy - Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, although it is doubtful that either of these legendary movie villains would have tolerated the many failures that Zoltar endured. The Spectran leadership is constantly attacking various Earth resources that they plan to steal, as well as to force Earth into submission. This is usually done in the form of huge death machines in the shape of animals or birds ('Panic of the Peacock', 'Beast with a Sweet Tooth', 'Attack of the Alien Wasp'), but sometimes G-Force found themselves up against pirates ('Ace from Outer Space') or mercenaries ('A Swarm of Robot Ants') though Spectra was usually involved in some way.

The only annoying thing I can honestly say about the series was that G-Force constantly emerged victorious. Although on several occasions their ship was damaged ('Raid on Riga', 'Giant from Planet Zyr'), or in one case, completely destroyed ('Raid of the Space Octopus'), they consistently sent the Spectrans back in defeat. A little variety might have made the series more interesting though it's easy to understand why the writers made it this way. It was, after all, intended for the younger set.

This entire series needs to be released on DVD. It can't come soon enough!

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