Planet of the Apes tv series. (1 Viewer)

[Carabimero]

Ron Harper, in his commentary tack on season three of LAND OF THE LOST, says he thought the plotlines to the TV live-action Apes were "the same every week." Believe it or not, he praised the scripts for LAND OF THE LOST as superior in that they had "imagination."

 

[Bryan^H]

I like Land of the Lost too, but I don't think it's as good as the POTA.
I know the work environment on the set of Apes wasn't the best for Harper. Apparently James Naughton was very unhappy with the show, and brought a lot of unnecessary tension to the set. He wasn't hostile to Harper, but he wasn't friendly either. This is explained in a sci-fi magazine interview with Harper from 1994.
Harper did praise Roddy Mcdowall though, and considered him a friend.

 

[Carabimero]

I think Harper was correct in saying LAND OF THE LOST was a lot more open to imagination on the part of the writers. Apes had a formula and used it week after week.

 

[RickER]

The 3rd season of Land of the Lost sucks. That was the only season Harper was in. PotA was much better than the 3rd season of Land of the Lost. Now, the 1st season of LotL had much better sci-fi scripts than the Apes series. The acting in LotL was always below par, and the budget was next to nothing. I assume the budget of Apes was equally as low, thats why it was a Fugitive retread, but the acting was fantastic. Anything with Roddy McDowell and Mark Leonard cant be that bad.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Been a POTA fan forever, and I've come to really enjoy the TV series today even though I didn't like it when it first premiered (I was 12 and wanted it to be exactly like the movies).

There is a great thread on the Classic Horror Boards about PLANET OF THE APES, the Sequels, and the TV Series. There are a lot of memories, good ideas, and timeline theories. I'd say it's definitely worth your time to check this link and join the discussion if you're a big APES freak like me...

Planet of The Apes Sequels - '60s and '70s Sci-Fi and Horror - The Silver Age of Horror - Classic Horror Film Board - Message Board - Yuku

 

[Cheetah]

I think this may be what you are referring to.

Detailed Timeline

It works for me at least. I think it is really interesting and neat how they tie everything together. POTA is definitely one of my top science fiction franchises and I enjoyed the live action TV series at least as much as I enjoyed the movies.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

That's a timeline from the old Marvel PLANET OF THE APES magazine, and I never agreed with it. Access the link to the thread above, but here's my idea ...

The writers of the series and the films never really cared much about being consistent, and there are many plotholes and errors. I don't believe the TV series was ever intended to fit in along with the movies, but it CAN be done. Read what I propose, and let me know what you think.

There seem to be three main problems in the TV Series which get in the way:

1.) There is a dog in the first episode.

2.) Zaius says there were other astronauts who arrived "10 years ago".

3.) The book in Episode 1 shows a picture of New York in the year 2503.

Other than these inconsistincies, things flow pretty nicely for the TV show occuring around 900 years before the original PLANET OF THE APES movie, and the subsequent sequels. Here is how I explain away the 3 stumbling blocks above:

1.) The dog in the first episode is a tough error to explain away. But if you consider in ESCAPE that Cornelius says "hundreds and thousands of dogs and cats died and had to be destroyed to prevent the spread of infection", we can stretch (and I do mean strrrreeettchhh) the idea that a few dogs or cats may have survived, though they're now quite rare and perhaps on the verge of total extinction.

2.) The "other astronauts" Zaius referred to are unknown. They're not Taylor and Brent, as they came LATER in the history. And we are to assume that "Zaius" of the TV Series is NOT the same "Dr. Zaius" as in the films. We can presume Zaius was a distant relative, and perhaps he was the orangutan who passed down the evil history of man from generation through generation, eventually to the point where DR. ZAIUS (in PLANET OF THE APES) is the only one who knows the truth. So in the first TV series episode, we are to assume that there was yet another Earth ship which landed 10 years previously, though the details are as yet unrevealed.

3.) The book shows New York quite active in the year 2503. We may assume that the infamous plague that destroyed most of the world's dogs and cats occurred around 2300, because Zira and Cornelius tell us in ESCAPE that it took five centuries for the apes to turn the tables on the humans, so we can assume the plague hit around 2300, and by 2800 the apes had reversed domination and took over the humans. Some 285 years later, by 3085, we've come to the situation as evidenced in the TV Series.

In order for the TV Show to fit in the timeline with the Movies, when watching the 14 episodes and the 5 feature films, we have to begin the timeline with the TV SHOW. Watching the 14 episodes ahead of the movies may not be the most ideal place to begin, but it flows better. Consider this timeline and see what you think:

OUR TIMELINE:

2008 (This is us right here today, reading HTF).

2300 (The Plague arrives and kills most dogs and cats, and Man begins to train Apes as household pets and servants).

2503 (The year the picture of NYC in the book from the first episode of the TV Series is taken).


2800 (An Ape named Aldo says "NO!" and the apes overtake the humans).

3085 (THE YEAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES "TV SERIES")

3955 (THE YEAR OF PLANET OF THE APES and BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES) -- We may presume that Virdon and Burke must have eventually been caught and killed, and that Zaius took it upon himself to save his race by hiding all evidence relating to the astronauts, and the fact that Humans ever had any civilization. Perhaps the apes began to wipe the minds from mankind as a precaution after the arrival of Virdon and Burke. Even though there are two different years given in both PLANET and BENEATH, I like to assume the date of 3978 in Taylor's ship is a few years incorrect, because 3955 seems to be the year that is more focused upon in later sequels. --- THE WORLD IS BLOWN UP ---

------------

ALTERNATE TIMELINE:

1973 (THE YEAR OF ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES) -- ZIra and Cornelius travel back to the past, but their arrival will completely alter all previous Ape History as they originally knew it! Furthermore, after their arrival, the years after 1973 will not progress for us the way we knew them, either (there will be no cell phones; Ape Management Centers spring up everywhere by 1990, etc....) We can assume that Zira and Cornelius brought the plague back with them, and this is why the plague hits Earth in 1983 next time, and why it's as quickly as 1991 when their son Caesar leading the apes in a revolt (Not "Aldo", as originally happened)!

1983 (The plague has been brought accidentally from Zira and Cornelius, so the death of dogs and cats and the acceleration of the apes Takeover moves along much faster).

1991 (Due to Caesar's birth, the entire history of the Ape Uprising accelerates much faster. The events of CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES happen here. This 1991 is, obviously, not the same one we experienced in "our" lifetimes).

2018 (Events of BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES). -- It's difficult to pinpoint precisely when BATTLE occurs, as Mandemus says the armory was his home "for 27 years", but a mutant says it's been "12 years of peace".

2670 - Where everything ends so far, at the "epilogue" of BATTLE. The Lawgiver tries to teach ape and human children to live togehter in peace and harmony, but Caesar's statue cries a tear as we'll never know how things will turn out...... the ending is deliberately ambiguous and not certain. Will the events of the TV Show occur again? Will the future that Taylor and Brent encountered come to be again? We do not know.

Fans have made all sorts of changes and ideas, but basically it works best IMO when the order goes: TV SERIES, PLANET, BENEATH, ESCAPE, CONQUEST and BATTLE. A lot of people say things don't stay very consistent because they tend to view CONQUEST and BATTLE as coming directly before PLANET and BENEATH. They work much better as coming AFTER, and leading up to an unknown future - not necessarily the same as Taylor encountered in the original film. The point of the later sequels is trying to change that future.

 

[Bryan^H]

I like to over simplify on purpose. Here's my timeline:

1-The apes were once really mean to humans and thought of them as only servants(live-action tv series)
a thousand years or so later:
2-The apes hate humans, and kill them for sport.(movies)


Seriously though, thanks Donald for the timeline it's pretty awesome, and ties things up beautifully.

 

[Bryan^H]

That is a great thread Joe. Lots of good reading. I got sucked in for about 30 minutes, and plan to read much more. Thanks

 

[Radioman970]

LotL is awesome. Of course, I haven't revisited Season 3 yet. I'm on DVD 2 of Season 2 right now and I'm loving it. I think it is much more creative than the PotA live action series so far. The better stories don't quite approach something like Twilight Zone, but for Saturday morning kid's fare, they are more than acceptable. In fact, Saturday morning is the only time I'll watch LotL. It's just better than way. I thnk stuff like PotA TV, live and animated, would work better than way too. A jolt of nostalgia...

I'm looking forward to seeing Harper in LotL. I felt he was pretty good in PotA. I can't imagine him being better than the actor who plays their dad in the 1st two seasons. He was great.

 

[Radioman970]

Oh, the Planet of the Apes movie remake? Disappointed immediately after they announced the actor who would play Taylor. Ultimately it ended up being mediocre, with a few laughs here and there, plus the brilliant makeup work. I got the DVD from the bargain bin. One of my dogs (not the one in my sig) enjoys TV a lot. And she loves movies like PotA. I'll watch it with her in my lap and it's a hellava fun time!

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I don't know how deep you like to delve into this subject, but if you stick with that thread from the forum I highlighted, you'll see why the timeline which Donald pointed us to can't really work (it's all within many pages of talk on that site).

Your simplistic 1 and 2 don't really work, as there are all sorts of glitches which get in the way, from both the movies and the TV series. But again, it depends how into it you are...

 

[younger1968]

I am huge planet of the apes fan have all the planet of apes movies, tv series, etc, except for the 2001 Movie remake.

 

Here is a link that you might find interesting

 

http://planetoftheapes.wikia.com/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes_(TV_Series)

 

The TV series in 1974 was canceled before ever having a proper ending. There are some unfilmed episodes, which helps explain what may have happend to Burke and Virden. The only problem with this show was that each episode was self-contained and no continuance. See below statements

 

1. Burke comments in Legacy it has been so long since he has seen a city. However, Burke and Virden were in city in an earlier episode, like Trapped

 

2. Computer Disc shows up in the Gladiators/Trapped, but does not show up again.

 

3. Horse Race episode they run into the prefect from Gladiators. It is interesting, because he remembered them from the Gladiators.

 

4. The first episode they are in a bomb shelter with different objects, but, they do not go back to the bomb shelter to recover anything of use

 

5. The dogs are shown in the series, but, in the original premise is that Apes were kept as pets, because all the dogs and cats were killed by a plague

 

6. Time line is a little off as well

 

 

The 1975 cartoon was good as well. I like the TV cartoon, because those episodes had some continuity unlike the 1974 series, that had many flaws. I think around 1975 the planet of apes momentum had died off. It would have been nice if the cartoon ended properly as well. There was only 13 episode and the last episode would have Bill and Cornelius bringing back info about the apes. My guess would be they would have been tried for herasy and then rescue Jeff and Judy. However, we will never know if that is the case. It would have been nice to see this show ended properly.

 

There is a new planet of apes movie coming out in 2011 or 2012. So, stay tune!!!