Season 6, Episode 12—The Planet of the Apes TV Series

The Planet of the Apes TV Series premiered in 1974. After the success of the Planet of the Apes movies, a TV series was given the go-ahead. The series lasted one year, and just 14 episodes.

Roddy McDowell was signed on, but playing a different character, Galen. Here is the cast:

Roddy McDowall … Galen = 14 episodes, 1974
Ron Harper … Alan Virdon = 14 episodes, 1974
James Naughton … Pete Burke = 14 episodes, 1974
Mark Lenard … Urko = 11 episodes, 1974
Booth Colman … Zaius = 6 episodes, 1974
Ron Stein … Gorilla Guard / … = 4 episodes, 1974

One of the concerns with the series, and most POTA fans were not happy with, was the appearance of a dog at the beginning of the first episode. From the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) there was an interstellar disease that eliminated dogs and cats, and that was when humanity started to have apes as pets.

Troy and David look at the pilot episode, and discuss some of the differences in it and the movies, and what are considered its best episodes.