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

The series Battle of the Planets was marketed to capitalize on the momentum created by Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), released in the prior year. The words Battle (instead of War) and Planets (instead of Star) are plays on that theme. The character 7-Zark-7 was a play on "droid" names created in Star Wars, that utilized letters and numbers, such as C-3PO and R2-D2.

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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

The UK DVD box set of the entire series contains several alternative versions of several episodes:

• 'Battle of the Planets: The Movie', a 68 minute feature editing together several episodes onto one storyline: 'Attack of the Space Terrapin', 'Big Robot Gold Grab', 'Ghost Ship of Planet Mir' and the 'Invasion of Space Centre' episodes'. The G-Fore team's adventures here are all earthbound, and include scenes of violence and loss of life originally edited from the TV series. 7 Zark 7 is played by David Bret Egen instead of Alan Young.
• 'Mini Feature', a 40 minute short combining the 'Invasion of Space Centre' episodes. This feature includes violence and loss of life originally cut out of the TV series. It also includes an alternative character introduction separate from the TV series, and a new club version of the theme music.
• The episode 'Rescue of the Astronauts', with an additional character introduction, introduction sequence and the club version of the theme music.

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Connections

Edited from Gatchaman (1972)

User Reviews

The Original Japanese "Super Team!!"

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.