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

Re-released as G-Force: Guardians of Space (1987) with a different translation.

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Connections

Referenced in G-Force (2009)

User Reviews

You really had to be there.

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.