"Battle of the Planets" (1978) TV series 1978-1985

Director:

David E. Hanson

Writers:

Peter Germano (1978)
Sidney Morse (1978)
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

18 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A five-member superhero team called G-Force fights to defend Earth and its space colonies from the threat of the planet Spectra.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Leader | Superhero | Orchestral Music Score | Edited From TV Series

Cast

Alan Young

...

7-Zark-7 / ... (unknown episodes)

Series Directed by
Alan Dinehart		(1 episode, 1978)
David E. Hanson		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Jameson Brewer		(1 episode, 1978)
William Bloom		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Kevin Paul Coates		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Muriel Germano		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Peter Germano		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Sidney Morse		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Jack Paritz		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Howard Post		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Dick Shaw		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Helen Sosin		(unknown episodes, 1978)
Harry Winkler		(unknown episodes, 1978)

Series Produced by
Alan Dinehart	....	producer (1 episode, 1978)
Warner E. Leighton	....	associate producer (1 episode, 1978)
Jameson Brewer	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Sandy Frank	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
David E. Hanson	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Hoyt Curtin		(unknown episodes)
Dennis Dreith		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Emil Carle	....	production manager (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Alex Toth	....	design consultant (1 episode, 1978)

Series Sound Department
Mason Alan Dinehart	....	assistant recording director (1 episode, 1978)

Series Animation Department
Harold Johns	....	animation supervisor (unknown episodes)
Alex Toth	....	character designer: "7-Zark-7" (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Pamela Bentkowski	....	assistant editor (1 episode, 1978)
Franklin Cofod	....	supervising editor (unknown episodes, 1978)

Series Music Department
Michael Anthony	....	musician: bass guitar (4 episodes, 1978)
Hoyt Curtin	....	composer: theme music (2 episodes, 1978)
Paul DeKorte	....	music supervisor (unknown episodes)
Richard Greene	....	musician: violin (unknown episodes)
Igo Kantor	....	music supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Mason Alan Dinehart	....	assistant voice director (1 episode, 1978)
David Levy	....	program executive (1 episode, 1978)
Leonard Reeg	....	creative consultant (1 episode, 1978)
Bob Robinson	....	assistant to producer (1 episode, 1978)
Tom Swafford	....	program executive (1 episode, 1978)
Tom Wogatzke	....	titles (1 episode, 1978)
Irving Klein	....	production executive (unknown episodes, 1978)
Alan Dinehart	....	voice director (unknown episodes)
George Serban	....	program consultant (unknown episodes)
Winifred Treimer	....	standards and practices (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Gallerie International Films Ltd.
• Tatsunoko Productions Company

Distributors

• AVRO Television (1980-1981) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Cuatro (2005) (Spain) (TV)
• Playback (2002) (UK) (video)
• Rhino Entertainment Company (USA) (DVD)
• Sandy Frank Film Syndication

Other Companies

• C & D Ink and Paint  ink and paint (as C. and D. Productions)
• T.V. Recorders  recording (as TV-R Hollywood)
• Take One  camera

Also Known As:

"G-Force" - USA (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Gallerie International Films Ltd.

Trivia:

Most footage comes from an existing Japanese anime show known predominantly as "Gatchaman", but the show content was tweaked for an American audience, including a reduction in violent scenes. To offset the removed content, the character of 7-Zark-7 was added and had a role that tied the altered story together.

Quotes:

[opening narration]
Narrator:Battle of the Planets! G-Force, five incredible young people with superpowers! And watching over them from Centre Neptune, 7-Zark-7! Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies from beyond space. G-Force! Fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy. Always five, acting as one. Dedicated! Inseparable! Invincible!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

y'all make me feel so old...

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!