Logan’s Run (1977-1978 series) coming to Blu-ray in October (1 Viewer)

[MattHR]

Sci-fi and fantasy TV will almost always fail visually to what the writer intended. Time and money are just too limited to pull it off on a weekly basis. I still enjoy them for what they attempt to do. It's those high concept ideas that keep me interested in them. We all have different expectations and standards when it comes to our viewing habits. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Logan's Run was on at a time when there weren't any successful fantasy shows on. Similar to The Planet Of The Apes, the network was spending too much money on it for anything other than a top ten hit. Sci-fi movies drew big numbers as movies of the week. The weekly TV series never did. I'm happy we have Logan on DVD. Like Shazam!, a blu-ray would be a welcomed miracle.

Totally agree. Most were cheesy then, and even more so now. But it never bothered me then (as a kid), and I certainly appreciate being able to collect them today as an adult (well, as close to an adult as I'm willing to become). Anytime something like this is offered on physical media — especially on Blu-ray — I'll support the cause and show my appreciation by purchasing it. Who could ever have imagined a show like Shazam! getting fully restored and released on Blu-ray!?!

 

[Gary OS]

I watched the entire series, and some episodes are much better than others. It isn't nearly as good as Planet of the Apes series from 1974 which it plays out like!

As to your comment about "laughably cheesy", whatever. Seems like you are going out of your way to pick a fight on a dedicated thread about this series.

Agreed on all counts (Planet of the Apes & the picking a fight deal).

Gary “ “O.

 

[Johnny Angell]

The TV series hasn't, only DVD. Are you sure you're not thinking of the film?

Yes, I am. Never mind.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Now I remember “The Fantastic Journey” from 1977. Dunno why it made any impression at all, except from being excited by any new sci-fi show. All I actually remember was Ike Eisenmann and the glowy fork thing and “I will terminate you!” Back when The Bermuda Triangle was a legitimate plot device.

 

[Blimpoy06]

Now I remember “The Fantastic Journey” from 1977

This is one show from the 70's I remember watching and liking that I have not seen again as a adult. There is a Region 4 DVD available and I just might have to get a copy soon.

 

[JohnHopper]

Try not to be so sensitive please. I was expressing my opinion. I watched just about every Sci/Fi show produced for TV in the ‘60s and ‘70s and though some may like them, and I did at the time, I now find them all “laughably cheesy”. Among these are:

The Star Lost
Space 1999
Battlestar Galactica (The Original)
Logan’s Run
Planet of The Apes
Lost in Space
V
The Martian Chronicles
Alien Nation.

Except for the LIS, they were all failures after a season or 2.

Silver Age-wise, there are other sci-fi shows:
Doctor Who
UFO
Doomwatch
Moonbase 3
Star Maiden
Survivors
Blake 7
Sapphire & Steel
Fantastic Journey

 

[Bryan^H]

Cheesy: Very poor quality. Badly made.

I don't think a lot of the shows mentioned meet this defefenition.
Poor writing of some episodes, sure but that still exists today across many television shows.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Alien Nation - wow, this was unexpected. This was a great series.

Man, I totally forgot about that show, but once you said that, the memories came flooding back. That was a fun show.

 

[ScottRE]

Cheesy: Very poor quality. Badly made.

I don't think a lot of the shows mentioned meet this definition.
Poor writing of some episodes, sure but that still exists today across many television shows.

Something doesn't always have to be of poor quality to be cheesy. An example of a classic cheesy SF show would be Buck Rogers. It was a well made TV series, but the styles, the attitudes, the jokes almost made it dated the moment it aired. "Disco SF" is pretty darned cheesy. Even if there's a ton of money poured into it with good performances, music and direction. The 1980 "Flash Gordon" movie was intentionally cheesy.

 

[Randy Korstick]

For some reason I don’t include Babylon 5, although there is something about the alien make up that I find unconvincing.

I find any 60's-90's Star trek show more cheesy than Babylon 5.

 

[Bryan^H]

Something doesn't always have to be of poor quality to be cheesy. An example of a classic cheesy SF show would be Buck Rogers. It was a well made TV series, but the styles, the attitudes, the jokes almost made it dated the moment it aired. "Disco SF" is pretty darned cheesy. Even if there's a ton of money poured into it with good performances, music and direction. The 1980 "Flash Gordon" movie was intentionally cheesy.

Sure, things always reflect the time period in which they were made. I don't count that as a strike against it. Also, some shows and movies were absolutely intentionally campy, like the Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Batman 66, Lost In Space from season 2 on etc. But shows like Logan's Run , and Planet of the Apes (which had one of the highest production budgets of the time) and had really great writers attached to them (many from the original Star Trek) and very good acting by all involved I just don't see that as cheesy. Look at the reviews for Planet of the Apes on Amazon--the majority of the reviews are 5 star over 200 reviews. That doesn't come easy, that is earned. It was a great series that was cancelled because it went head to head against Sanford, an Son which was a ratings vacuum hugely popular, and it was on Friday night the worst night ever conceived for a sci-fi series. Logan's Run aired Friday Night CBS too just like POTA.

Like I said Logan's Run isn't as good as POTA, but it isn't that bad either.

 

[ScottRE]

Planet of the Apes wasn't bad and I don't think cheesy fits for it either. I did find it bland, though. The premiere was excellent and The Trap was good, as was the one where the blind chimpanzee falls in love with Virdon, believing he's an ape. But for the most part, it felt half-hearted. However, I consider it a legit follow up to the films and if you (like me) buy that the timeline altered because of the events of Escape, Conquest and Battle, this version actually fits. Apes and humans had a fragile peace for some time before separating again. Roddy McDowell is always a treat and made the series as fun as it was.

 

[Bryan^H]

Planet of the Apes wasn't bad and I don't think cheesy fits for it either. I did find it bland, though. The premiere was excellent and The Trap was good, as was the one where the blind chimpanzee falls in love with Virdon, believing he's an ape. But for the most part, it felt half-hearted. However, I consider it a legit follow up to the films and if you (like me) buy that the timeline altered because of the events of Escape, Conquest and Battle, this version actually fits. Apes and humans had a fragile peace for some time before separating again. Roddy McDowell is always a treat and made the series as fun as it was.

I think Mark Lenard, and Roddy McDowall (who loved working on this series) made the series special.
I always loved the concept of the show--before humans were wild mute savages, but speaking, and enslaved by the apes.

This short interview with Mark Lenard reflecting about playing chief of security Urko is great:

 

[Sam Favate]

Many of these shows from the 70s - Planet of the Apes, Logan's Run, The Incredible Hulk - are simply variations on The Fugitive: main character(s) always running, escaping someone from law enforcement (or the press in the Hulk's case), and meeting new characters and telling a new story each week. The Fugitive did it best, but I enjoyed all of those shows, none of which I would call "cheesy." I'd call Sigmund and the Sea Monsters "cheesy," and I mean that kindly.

 

[ScottRE]

Honestly, when it comes to the original POTA series, from the classic first film all the way to the final episode of the short lived TV series (and even including the cartoon), I have an irrational love. No matter how "less than amazing" a film or episode was, it remains one of my all time SF franchises. It's up there with Star Trek and Star Wars with me.

Perhaps in the dead cold winter months, I'll do an Apes marathon.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

This short interview with Mark Lenard reflecting about playing chief of security Urko is great:

Great interview - thanks for posting!

I grew up in the '70s and watched any sci-fi show that came down the pike, but I haven't seen the Planet of the Apes TV series (or the Logan's Run one, for that matter), since they first aired.

 

[MattHR]

Hey moderator, perhaps add "Sorry, false alarm!" to the subject heading?

 

[BobO'Link]

I've consistently and rather frequently been underwhelmed by SF on TV - and I've watched almost all of them, series, mini-series, and made-for-TV movies "live." It's not necessarily visuals that are lacking but frequently the stories. Most of the time "serious" SF is left on the table while juvenile fodder is delivered - even with series that *should* be on the serious side. Or the stories are rather mundane, slight reworkings of non-SF scripts, adding SF trappings to make them qualify, similar to what Sam said - "The Fugitive" in space/the future or other general theme reworkings. I'll forgive wonky visuals long before juvenile stories or non-SF stories with SF trappings grafted on for no good reason. One thing I truly detest is comedy relief type characters added to what should be a more serious series, dumbing them down, or attempts to make a series "kid friendly" when it's not necessarily a series aimed at kids. It's not just my adult me talking as I felt that way as a kid. I hated all those things added to SF series in attempts to cater to kids or make it kid friendly. There are several series I saw as a kid or young adult that I summarily dismissed. I find those series today to be mostly enjoyable but I'm watching them with full knowledge of just what they are. And there are some that I find just aren't as bad as I'd originally thought. That said, it's my favorite genre in books, movies, and TV series and I'm a tough and rather unforgiving critic.

 

[JohnHopper]

The series started with the premise that Burke and Virdon had a slim chance to return home in the past with their small metallic chip.
That approach was gradually abandoned. Anyway, the episodes I found the most exciting are the ones taking place in destroyed cities.

My Top 5 POTA
“Escape from Tomorrow” (pilot)
“The Trap”
“The Legacy”
“The Interrogation”
“The Tyrant”

 

[Ethan Riley]

I would say Logan's Run did appeal to me as a kid, for whatever reason. I liked the idea of them trying to rebuild society. It's just that they ended up running around in circles and that's why it got cancelled, more than bad scripts--because the scripts really weren't bad. They were "B" level dramas but not bad, as in shlock or camp, and I don't know why anybody thinks so.