Battle of the Planets 

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

Stars:

Alan Young, Keye Luke, Ronnie Schell

Cast

Series cast summary:
Alan Young	...	7-Zark-7 / ... 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Keye Luke	...	Colonel Cronus / ... 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Ronnie Schell	...	Jason 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Janet Waldo	...	Princess / ... 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Casey Kasem	...	Mark 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Alan Dinehart	...	Chief Anderson / ... 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Takayo Fischer	...	Additional Voices 85 episodes, 1978-1980
David Jolliffe	...	Additional Voices 85 episodes, 1978-1980
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Additional Voices 85 episodes, 1978-1980
William Woodson	...	Additional Voices / ... 85 episodes, 1978-1980

Storyline

Zoltar and his evil minions constantly attempt to either destroy or conquer the planet Earth. His efforts in this regard are constantly battled by G-Force, a group of five teenagers with high-tech vehicles, weapons, and a thing for bird-like costumes. Each member of the defense team has incredible, cerebrionic-enhanced superpowers. These teenaged orphans have pledged their lives to defend Earth and the Federation from Zoltar, ruler of the planet Spectra. G-Force's missions are coordinated from Center Neptune on Earth by their computerized assistant, 7-Zark-7.

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Plot Keywords:

outer space | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

G-Force

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gallerie International Films Ltd., Tatsunoko Production

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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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!

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Alternate Versions

This is an edited version of Gatchaman. They had to edit out several minutes of footage from each episode, due to graphic violence. As a result, the episodes were a few minutes short for syndication, so they had to add footage to make up for the footage that was cut out. Thus 7-Zark-7 was created to make up for the time shortages. He is not in the original Japanese series.

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Connections

Spoofed in Teen Titans: Don't Touch That Dial (2005)

User Reviews

A classic!

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.