Burke (likable James Naughton) and Virdon (the equally engaging Ron Harper) are caught by Barlow (an excellent performance by veteran character actor John Hoyt), a well-meaning, but misguided ape prefect who forces humans to fight each other to the death in a fierce gladiator-style combat arena. Legendary B-movie bad boy William Smith once again confirms his sterling status as one fearsome dude with his first-rate ferocious portrayal of reigning champion Tolar: Smith not only cuts a typically imposing figure with his brawny physique, but also handles a few strong dramatic moments with his usual finesse and dies a most heroic death at the end. Moreover, a very young Marc Singer does well as Tolar's eager, but reluctant son Dalton, who questions his father on the need for killing. Director Don McDougall, working from a compelling script by Art Wallace, relates the engrossing story at a steady pace and neatly explores the theme of loyalty as Galen (the always fine Roddy McDowall) tries to figure out a way to save his human friends. The big fight between Burke and Talor is quite brutal and exciting. Lalo Schifrin's rousing score hits the stirring spot. A nifty show.
3 Reviews
Fighting to the death
Tweekums9 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
As astronauts Virdon and Burke, along with their Chimpanzee friend Galen flee the authorities they come across two men fighting. They try to break up the fight but this just leads to the men turning on them. It turns out one of the men is training his son to be a fighter as the local prefect believes that the occasional gladiatorial fight to the death will satisfy the local humans' blood lust. During the scrap the data disc taken from their capsule is dropped and picked up by the prefect. The trio head to the prefect's village where Galen visits him and tries to talk him into giving the disc back without letting him know what it means. Things get worse when Virdon and Burke are captured while trying to steal horses. It is decided that they will be the next to fight with Burke being forced to fight the champion Tolar. As the fight reaches its conclusion apes from the capital turn up looking for our protagonists so even if Burke can win their problems won't be over.
This is a solid second episode which appears to be setting things up for a location-of-the-week style of series where the characters encounter a problem, overcome it then head on in much the same circumstances as before. That isn't a problem when the stories are fun and this one is pretty good; there is no real villain, which is nice, the prefect's organised fights may seem barbaric but it is made clear that his motives are good and he treats the humans in his village better than most apes. William Smith does a good job as champion gladiator Tolar; he certainly has the right physique for the role. He is more than just a muscleman though; we see him as a man of honour who feels disgraced at having his life spared. The fight scenes are pretty good and it does look like the combatants are really fighting. Some may find the pacifist message as Tolar's son expresses a wish not to fight a little heavy handed but to my mind it doesn't detract from the story. Overall a pretty good episode.
This is a solid second episode which appears to be setting things up for a location-of-the-week style of series where the characters encounter a problem, overcome it then head on in much the same circumstances as before. That isn't a problem when the stories are fun and this one is pretty good; there is no real villain, which is nice, the prefect's organised fights may seem barbaric but it is made clear that his motives are good and he treats the humans in his village better than most apes. William Smith does a good job as champion gladiator Tolar; he certainly has the right physique for the role. He is more than just a muscleman though; we see him as a man of honour who feels disgraced at having his life spared. The fight scenes are pretty good and it does look like the combatants are really fighting. Some may find the pacifist message as Tolar's son expresses a wish not to fight a little heavy handed but to my mind it doesn't detract from the story. Overall a pretty good episode.
William Smith, Finally A Good Guy
TheFearmakers2 May 2024
Like after any pilot episode, the budget here on episode two is noticeably sparse and we're cut down to a more centered storyline with less Apes and more humans... After all, it's much easier to throw rags on people than to dress up those gorillas...
In this sort of old school gladiator style episode without fancy armor, Burke and Virdon must go up against a human brawler who fights other humans for the ape's enjoyment.
Muscle-bound character actor William Smith is the formidable badass and his son, who's learning the ropes, is played by Marc Singer. The last half, as Singer and Galen compare the "virtues" of warriors and pacifists, drags despite the awesome premise. But the scene where Burke's pitted against Smith makes the episode shine - although the turnout is pretty unrealistic.
In this sort of old school gladiator style episode without fancy armor, Burke and Virdon must go up against a human brawler who fights other humans for the ape's enjoyment.
Muscle-bound character actor William Smith is the formidable badass and his son, who's learning the ropes, is played by Marc Singer. The last half, as Singer and Galen compare the "virtues" of warriors and pacifists, drags despite the awesome premise. But the scene where Burke's pitted against Smith makes the episode shine - although the turnout is pretty unrealistic.
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