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What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (6 Viewers)

The 1960's

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Run for Your Life is an American television drama television series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. He decides to do all of the things for which he never had time. Each episode tells of the places he goes and the people he meets, from bums riding the rails to gigolos. He becomes a man with little fear of death, and everything but time. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.

Gazzara originated the character of Paul Bryan on Kraft Suspense Theatre, in the episode "Rapture at Two-Forty," which aired on April 15, 1965, and served as the show's pilot. Run For Your Life ran on the NBC network from 1965 to 1968. (IMDb & Wikipedia)

S02E14 Time and a Half on Christmas Eve (Dec.19.1966)
Stars Ben Gazzara Ernest Borgnine Charles McGraw Melanie Alexander Richard Bull Ray Montgomery Adele Claire Craig Huxley G.D. Spradlin Shannon Farnon Elmer Modlin


One of my all-time favorite holy grails. Though sometimes compared to The Fugitive, Run For Your Life had a unique and special feel to it. In this episode Paul Bryan (Ben Gazzara) gets stranded on the eve of Christmas when his plane makes an emergency landing. There are no rental cars to be had and the plane’s stewardess has plans with her boyfriend leaving our playboy all alone on Christmas Eve. While lamenting his plight at a local pub he meets “bring ‘em back alive” cab driver Harry Martin (Ernest Borgnine) along with Jeannie Reynolds (hottie Melanie Alexander) and bartender Sam Bailey (Charles McGraw). Harry is determined to make this a memorable Christmas for his new friend Paul and he takes him on a trip to all the best places in town! They build a beautiful friendship and Paul convinces Harry to go visit his ex-wife and son who he hasn’t seen in many years. A truly touching episode thanks to guest-star Ernest Borgnine who is just wonderful. As Randall pointed out, Borgnine was great whether playing the heavy or the good guy and he was a real funny man too. Images have been considerably modified.

Finally, to the individual who took the initiative to digitally capture the entire series and masterfully edit out the commercials, thank you! It’s a whole lot better than nothing as it appears this series will never be released on physical media or even streamed anywhere!!!​

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Purple Wig

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Tonight’s listen. This budget label version of the Mission Impossible soundtrack is an enjoyable album, the title track is played at a more frantic tempo than Schafrin’s arrangement, opening up with some hammering piano chords bringing to mind a hopped up on amphetamines take on the Barnaby Jones theme before breaking into a more latin tinged attack, then some groovy 60’s organ is layered on as some jazzier elements are incorporated.
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Jeff Flugel

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Vega$
"Dead Ringer" (S3E20)

View attachment 165798
Good to have you back, Russ...and thanks for the Phyllis Davis eye candy!

I just discovered a very weird British sci-fi kid show entitled Sky (1975). It's produced like a Doctor Who story with bizarre sound effects.
Good pick, John! I talked about this one a few years back here...an interesting and trippy '70s sci-fi children's serial from the ITV regional broadcaster HTV. Your picking up on a vaguely Doctor Who-ish vibe is likely no coincidence, as the writers of Sky (Bob Baker and Dave Martin) co-wrote several classic Who stories, including "The Claws of Axos", "The Mutants", "The Three Doctors" (for Third Doctor Jon Pertwee), and "The Sontaran Experiment", "The Hand of Fear", "Underworld", "The Armageddon Factor" and "Nightmare of Eden" (for Fourth Doc Tom Baker).

Cool, a Run for Your Life Christmas episode...and guest-starring Ernest Borgnine! Looks like a neat episode, as well. Sure wish this series could have received a well-deserved official DVD release. Oh, well.

Great post and caps, Neal! And thanks for sharing Melanie Alexander's sexy, shimmying Watusi table dance. :)
 
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HubbaBubbaKid

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“Cool, a Run for Your Life Christmas episode...and guest-starring Ernest Borgnine! Looks like a neat episode, as well. Sure wish this series could have received a well-deserved official DVD release. Oh, well.
Great post and caps, Neal! And thanks for sharing Melanie Alexander's sexy, shimmying Watusi table dance. 🙂

I second that Jeff, RFYL is the one show i haven’t really gotten into yet but want to bc of how much i love the Fugitive. Speaking of, and thanks for reminding me Neal , but lets hear it for Bobbie Wygant!—the classic tv/ film lovers dream — for interviewing the actors/actresses
(usually on set,-pre 80’s & 90’s) we all love .With her down home Texas style & personality , to me, she is the unsung heroine of the classic tv & film world and its fantastic that all her work has been archived for the world to see. She is the only person i would love to be interviewed by as an actor . I also love seeing her in the classic styles of the day . Heres to you Bobbie , going strong @ 96! 🎉🍾



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JohnHopper

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Good pick, John! I talked about this one a few years back here...an interesting and trippy '70s sci-fi children's serial from the ITV regional broadcaster HTV. Your picking up on a vaguely Doctor Who-ish vibe is likely no coincidence, as the writers of Sky (Bob Baker and Dave Martin) co-wrote several classic Who stories, including "The Claws of Axos", "The Mutants", "The Three Doctors" (for Third Doctor Jon Pertwee), and "The Sontaran Experiment", "The Hand of Fear", "Underworld", "The Armageddon Factor" and "Nightmare of Eden" (for Fourth Doc Tom Baker).


It’s really way out for kids. The show has a dual harsh texture: part naturalistic-looking and part Glam Rock style aka David Bowie meets three country English teens. If you catch my meaning, mate.
 

The Obsolete Man

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I decided to finish out the year with The Simpsons.

Started with the Tracy Ullman shorts and grabbed them off YouTube, then on to the seasons.

On S3 right now. Last time I watched the show I didn't make it very far into season 10, so we'll see if the Mike Scully era ends my rewatch again this time out.

Season 1 wasn't great. Wasn't bad, but wasn't great. But the quality of the show improves by leaps and bounds in S2. By the time I hit S3, it felt almost like that classic era everyone loves.

Oh, and yes, I did watch the memory holed episode. They can't edit my DVDs. And really, if they didn't have an inkling of what ol' Wacko Jacko was up to (while literally everyone else in the world did) for the 25 years before finally finding something wrong with the episode still being available, I'm not seeing their decision to pull it as anything more than performative theater to keep the social media heat off of them.

And that's my rant for the day.

Anyway, the best episodes are all still ahead, but seasons 2 and 3 have more above average episodes than I thought they did.
 
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JohnHopper

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It’s really way out for kids. The show has a dual harsh texture: part naturalistic-looking and part Glam Rock style aka David Bowie meets three country English teens. If you catch my meaning, mate.

Ziggy Stardust meets British country folks. Take a close look at the three teens: one of them is a blond boy with a glam rock haircut that fits in the hip style of David Bowie. In a way, Sky is a forerunner for The Man Who Fell to Earth.
 

ScottRE

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I've started on the 1974 Planet of the Apes TV series for the first time in a while. Not the best series (lasting a mere half season), it is bolstered by the makeup (same as the films) and costumes (ditto) and mostly Roddy McDowall. The music is also quite good.

Speaking of, I am always fascinated by the opening credits. They present a much more intense feel than the series itself. The theme by Lalo Schifrin is classic and brutal, more in line with Leonard Rosenman's two Apes film scores than Goldsmith's (or - oy vey - Tom Scott's). But adding to it is the stark cinematography. The lighting and overall feal is one of apprehension, terror and desperation. It's rather a shame the series itself (which still had some very good episodes) didn't follow suit.

A decent series, hamstrung by the "Fugitive" template, still can fit into the rewritten timeline of the final films if one squints hard enough. Interestingly, the two astronauts arrived to into the Apes time period through a time warp rather than being in suspended animation like the original astronauts did. This is more in line with how "Brent" wound up there in the second film.


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Jeff Flugel

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The Beverly Hillbillies
2.25 “Granny Vs. the Weather Bureau”
The Weather Bureau says their satellite predicts the day to be fair and clear. Granny's beetle says rain. This leads to a clash between the cantankerous Granny (Irene Ryan) and the stuffy, science-minded head of the Weather Bureau, Justin Addison, Jr. (John McGiver, doing his patented – and very funny - pompous windbag thing). I think you can guess how this particular battle turns out. Let’s just say: Granny 1, Weather Bureau 0. Red-headed ‘60s sexpot Quinn O’Hara (best known for her appearance in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini) has a brief bit as a TV weather girl.

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The Pretender
1.5 “The Paper Clock”
Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) joins a high-powered law firm to free a mentally-challenged man (Christian J. Meoli) framed for murder. The pop culture item this week is a Rubik’s Cube, which Jarod masters in a couple of minutes whle barely paying attention. He’s assisted in meting out justice this time out by a transvestite taxi driver (Gerry McIntyre) who he defended in a court case.

1.6 “To Protect and Serve”
Jarod joins the Miami police force to expose a couple of cops running their own burglary ring that led to the murder - and subsequent framing - of a young security guard. Despite Jarod’s humorous (and fitting) discovery of donuts and donut holes, this is a more emotional episode than usual, as he engages a woman (Natalija Nogulich) who specializes in reuniting separated family members to track down the whereabouts of his mom. Close but no cigar, as the woman hands over the info only to have it seized and destroyed by Miss Parker (Andrea Parker).

1.7 “A Virus Among Us”
Jarod joins a CDC-like group to investigate the suspicious disappearance of a virologist who worked there. He also befriends Ben (Jon Polito), a friendly and enthusiastic but not very talented classic musician. Perhaps still smarting from Miss Parker’s callous burning of the intel on his mother in the previous week’s episode, Jarod really lets her have it this time out, deliberately infecting her with the flu, and turning his seedy rental apartment into a life-size Roach hotel to temporarily trap Miss Parker and two of her goons.

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1.8 “Not Even a Mouse”
‘Tis the season, and Miss Parker takes a temporary break from her relentless pursuit of Jarod to celebrate the holidays. This gives Jarod free reign to experience the joys and sorrows of Christmas for the very first time, as he joins the medical examiner's office in Baltimore to expose who killed a popular homeless man in a hit and run. Jarod also finds time to identify a young Jane Doe found dead on the snow-covered streets. But not everything is naughty and not nice in this very busy yet skillfully structured episode, as we get more flashbacks to Jarod’s past, including a brief encounter between himself and Miss Parker when they were children. While Jarod works a crueler-than-usual (but well-deserved) “gotcha” on the homeless man’s killer, before turning them over to the police, he also finds time to bring some much-needed seasonal cheer to a gaggle of orphans, as well as send some thoughtfully-chosen presents to his father-figure mentor Sydney (Patrick Bachau) and even Miss Parker, whose usual brittle, ice-queen façade briefly fades, exposing the wounded, lonely little girl beneath. Jarod also tries fruitcake for the first time and actually seems to like it. All in all, about as good a Christmas episode as one could expect for this kind of conspiracy-laden adventure thriller.

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One of the (many) fun aspects of this series is to see the predatory, borderline serial killer look on Jarod’s usually placidly smiling face as he closes in on the guilty party each week. Michael T. Weiss really nails the naïve, childlike innocence of the character, as well as the ever-so-slightly creepy side that serves up revenge on the perpetrators in as close to an eye-for-an-eye (albeit non-fatal) manner as possible. The bad guys are nasty enough that the viewer is always ready to see the crumbums get their just desserts.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
5.1 “The Kappa Sig Party”
Ozzie and Harriet end up hosting a last-minute party for David's fraternity. Ozzie dispenses football tips to the team, Harriet cooks up a mess of hamburgers – with David’s pal Wally (the irrepressible Skip Young) nominating himself as taste-tester - and Ricky spins some records, plays the bongos and does a mean dance with one of the young lady guests. Needless to say, the Nelson’s are consummate hosts and the exceedingly well-behaved college kids all have a grand time. Another enjoyably low-stakes outing, which concludes with a touching, heartfelt little speech full of wisdom and love from Ozzie to his eldest son. Sweet stuff.

Wagon Train – 7.3 “The Robert Harrison Clarke Story”
Clarke (Michael Rennie), an arrogant British journalist, is accompanying the wagon train along with his Sikh manservant and close friend, Ram Singh (Henry Silva). Clarke is out to debunk the fanciful claims of dime novels which have recently captured the imaginations of the residents of ol' Blighty, and seems to hold the western frontier and its American denizens in very low regard. But his views will change dramatically after he finds himself pinned down by a horde of Kiowa and Comanche, led by Eastern-educated chief John Warbow (George Keymas), with only a few hardy men - including wagon master Chris Hale (John McIntire) and scout Cooper Smith (Robert Fuller) - for company.

Neal already did a fab job covering this episode (from the 90-minute, all-color S7), with an able assist from Scott, and therefore I don't have much more to add to their comments, other than to agree about the excellent script (by Gene L. Coon) and fine performances from an impressive cast...all rise to the occasion, but for my money the standout is Brian Keith, who's especially good here as a grizzled, canny Army scout who finds himself among the small band under siege. Lots of impressive location photography is on display, sitting cheek-by-jowl to obvious shot-on-sets scenes, but fans of vintage television are used to such things and, for me at least, it didn't detract from the story. Thanks again to Neal for finding a way for me to watch this strong western tale of survival and true heroism. Also with Royal Dano, L.Q. Jones, Randy Boone, and William Bryant.

The Johnny Cash Hour - 1978 Christmas Special
I try to squeeze one or two seasonal variety specials into my annual Christmas viewing. Here's another good one from the Man in Black himself, who croons out a slew of tunes between guest spots featuring Steve Martin, Kris Kristofferson and his then-wife, Rita Coolidge. Of course Johnny's wife June Carter Cash joins in for a few songs, and the special comes to a close with a lovely rendition by Johnny of "Silent Night," with all six of his and June's adult (and very pretty) daughters joining in. Johnny Cash always comes across as a real down-to-earth, humble guy on his variety show, and he works real hard here to ensure his audience has a good time.
 
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JohnHopper

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Speaking of, I am always fascinated by the opening credits. They present a much more intense feel than the series itself.



I agree with you. The main titles has a fancy feature film style: the footages shot for the second part (the chase part) are tough like the feature film Planet of the Apes (see the fields of corns scene), in other words, it is intense and expressive—I wonder who shot the footages of that main titles: the director of the pilot or a company. The episodes are filmed in a rather standard way: nothing fancy, nothing cute, just the usual flat television style. I believed they had a small budget hence the blatant limitations.

Picture an episode managed by Sutton Roley, done like his best Rat Patrol entries!

They had some honest directors (Arnold Laven, Don McDougall, Bernard McEveety, Don Weis, Alf Kjellin, John Meredyth Lucas, Ralph Senensky, Jack Starrett) and some were better than others and some were more productive, meaning more than one episode (Arnold Laven, Don McDougall, Bernard McEveety, Don Weis). Weis directed the pilot.

 

ScottRE

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I agree with you. The main titles has a fancy feature film style: the footages shot for the second part (the chase part) are tough like the feature film Planet of the Apes (see the fields of corns scene), in other words, it is intense and expressive—I wonder who shot the footages of that main titles: the director of the pilot or a company. The episodes are filmed in a rather standard way: nothing fancy, nothing cute, just the usual flat television style. I believed they had a small budget hence the blatant limitations.

Picture an episode managed by Sutton Roley, done like his best Rat Patrol entries!

They had some honest directors (Arnold Laven, Don McDougall, Bernard McEveety, Don Weis, Alf Kjellin, John Meredyth Lucas, Ralph Senensky, Jack Starrett) and some were better than others and some were more productive, meaning more than one episode (Arnold Laven, Don McDougall, Bernard McEveety, Don Weis). Weis directed the pilot.

That's a great question regarding who directed the footage. Some of it is very blandly set up (the astronauts leaning back, the apes just sitting on horseback) but other shots are great (Galen running, the urgency of Roddy's closeup, the two guys running as you said). Agreed, it's apparent that it cost next to nothing to shoot, probably around the same time as the pilot. But put all together, it's a great, mood packed intro.

The show didn't have a chance to succeed, the format they picked was too limited and they also had to dilute the concept for the home audience (i.e. kids). From what I read, it wasn't like they started strong in the ratings and just dropped. They had no ratings from the start. Probably took them by surprise since the films did great when they ran on TV at the time. However, stories about horse races and the constant chase plots with guest stars who looked like they stepped out of Central Casting with a "primitive village wardrobe" to match didn't help (you'd think CBS would have learned when they se this exact same format for Logan's Run a couple of years later).

The cast was top notch for the most part. While David Naughton was kind of an ill fit (do you really need a TV smartass in this setting?), Ron Harper was an underrated and powerful lead, Mark Lenard and Booth Colman were both incredibly good as Urko and Dr. Zaius respectively. The two human leads were also very good physical actors and the various fights were well done.

Roddy though made the series worth watching. He loved playing Galen, more so than either Cornelius (who he considered a bore) or Caesar (whom he liked playing more than Cornelius). Galen was an innocent, a curious being and a good hearted soul. Yet he was smart, sassy and hard edged when confronted. He loved that while Galen had a lot to learn from his human companions, they were on equal levels, unlike the first film were Taylor was clearly superior (or acted as such).

Unlike the films, though, most of the ape actors couldn't move the masks very well. Roddy and Kim Hunter discovered that you had to overdo the facial movements for the appliances to register. The TV series directors didn't take this into account. So most of the time, the guest apes had immobile mouths which just sucked away some of the realism.

I didn't expect to write so much in response but I really love the classic Apes franchise and adore Roddy McDowall's work, in the series and everywhere else I've seen him. He seemed like a sweet person and he's one actor I wish I had been able to meet before his passing.
 
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Purple Wig

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I liked the Planet of the Apes series well enough when it was on but the animated version seemed to have more exciting stories. Haven’t seen it since then.

Semi-related: Roddy McDowall’s home movies from the 60’s are on youtube and well worth watching, a lot of familiar faces in a casual setting.
 

TLones1060

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Tonight I watched my BluRay of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Watched on either first or second airing on CBS. in 1965-66. My second favorite Christmas special of all time (First is Magoo's Christmas Carol which I also own on Blu). I can just about quote some of the Charlie Brown Christmas dialogue, and you have to love the ending.
 

Jeff Flugel

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Great to see some newer members posting in this thread. Welcome, Joe and Tim!

Enjoyed Homicide:LIFE ON THE STREET- season 3 this week
I remember Homicide: Life on the Streets fondly from it's original Friday night airings on NBC, Joe, though I haven't seen it since. A very good show, and my first exposure to the work of Andre Braugher, who was on fire in that series, and a standout in a uniformly strong cast. Did you watch Homicide on DVD or streaming?

Tonight I watched my BluRay of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Watched on either first or second airing on CBS. in 1965-66. My second favorite Christmas special of all time (First is Magoo's Christmas Carol which I also own on Blu). I can just about quote some of the Charlie Brown Christmas dialogue, and you have to love the ending.
Tim, I wasn' t aware that the Mr. Magoo Christmas Carol had been released on Blu-Ray. I have the DVD version, and am hoping to give it a first-time spin later this month. I didn't use to care for A Charlie Brown Christmas when I was a kid, but I watched it a year or two ago and greatly enjoyed it. And of course the wall-to-wall music in the special is wonderful and has long been a part of my Christmas playlist.
 
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JohnHopper

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That's a great question regarding who directed the footage. Some of it is very blandly set up (the astronauts leaning back, the apes just sitting on horseback) but other shots are great (Galen running, the urgency of Roddy's closeup, the two guys running as you said). Agreed, it's apparent that it cost next to nothing to shoot, probably around the same time as the pilot. But put all together, it's a great, mood packed intro.

The show didn't have a chance to succeed, the format they picked was too limited and they also had to dilute the concept for the home audience (i.e. kids). From what I read, it wasn't like they started strong in the ratings and just dropped. They had no ratings from the start. Probably took them by surprise since the films did great when they ran on TV at the time. However, stories about horse races and the constant chase plots with guest stars who looked like they stepped out of Central Casting with a "primitive village wardrobe" to match didn't help (you'd think CBS would have learned when they se this exact same format for Logan's Run a couple of years later).

The cast was top notch for the most part. While David Naughton was kind of an ill fit (do you really need a TV smartass in this setting?), Ron Harper was an underrated and powerful lead, Mark Lenard and Booth Colman were both incredibly good as Urko and Dr. Zaius respectively. The two human leads were also very good physical actors and the various fights were well done.

Roddy though made the series worth watching. He loved playing Galen, more so than either Cornelius (who he considered a bore) or Caesar (whom he liked playing more than Cornelius). Galen was an innocent, a curious being and a good hearted soul. Yet he was smart, sassy and hard edged when confronted. He loved that while Galen had a lot to learn from his human companions, they were on equal levels, unlike the first film were Taylor was clearly superior (or acted as such).

Unlike the films, though, most of the ape actors couldn't move the masks very well. Roddy and Kim Hunter discovered that you had to overdo the facial movements for the appliances to register. The TV series directors didn't take this into account. So most of the time, the guest apes had immobile mouths which just sucked away some of the realism.

I didn't expect to write so much in response but I really love the classic Apes franchise and adore Roddy McDowall's work, in the series and everywhere else I've seen him. He seemed like a sweet person and he's one actor I wish I had been able to meet before his passing.




Two things odd about the humans that are depicted in the series: first, they talk, second, they are all farmers and that farmer side make this series look like a western series. Moreover, the series has a dual sub historical layers (both neolithic and medieval) because the humans are depicted as serfs and the apes as ruthless lords.

 

ScottRE

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Two things odd about the humans that are depicted in the series: first, they talk, second, they are all farmers and that farmer side make this series look like a western series. Moreover, the series has a dual sub historical layers (both neolithic and medieval) because the humans are depicted as serfs and the apes as ruthless lords.

I felt this worked following Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Remember, the timeline apparently changed when Cornelius, Zira and Milo went back to the 20th century in Escape. By the 5th film, which followed the nuclear holocaust, humans and Apes were living together more or less in peace ruled by Caesar. This crumbled in the intervening years, leaving the Apes the dominant species, but humans still retained their power of speech and intelligence. That's my "squinting" to make it work. Also, I figured enough time passed for dogs to come back. ;)

Honestly, I doubt the producers had any of this in mind. It was probably more like M*A*S*H and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - merely a "TV version" of the films that spawned them. But if you wanna make it fit, you can do it with a little twisting and forgiveness. It's easier to do that with this series than the other two, which are obviously their own things.
 
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Bryan^H

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I love Planet of the Apes (the first TV on DVD release in entirety back in November of 2001). A few things about it,


the production budget at the time was the most expensive on TV, which was one of the reasons it was cancelled eventually.

It had many of the same set/costume designers from Star Trek TOS.

It did fairly well In the ratings, and there was even talk of ABC picking it up for a second season.

Malibu Creek State Park (Fox Ranch) where it was filmed was also the filming location of M*A*S*H. Beautiful location.

Roddy Mcdowall said Galen was his favorite role in any of the Apes productions

Unfortunately the two leads Ron Harper, and James Naughton didn't care much for the one another negativity mostly from Naughton according to Ron Harper. James Naughton said in an interview he resented the role, and didn't want to do the series. Sad.



Damn the official timelines,
I always thought this series was brilliant in that humans starting out as talking slaves was part of a natural evolution. In my mind the original film is much, much later, and humans have been bred into mute savages being constantly hunted, and killed by the Apes for hundreds of years. It makes much more sense than the nonsensical timeline.
 
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ScottRE

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I love Planet of the Apes (the first TV on DVD release in entirety back in November of 2001). A few things about it,

It did fairly well In the ratings, and there was even talk of ABC picking it up for a second season.
I never heard that before. Most of what I've read said it just died on the table, even though the network loved the pilot (and it was exceptionally well done). The series was run opposite Sanford and Son and Chico and the Man. Those two were ratings powerhouses and CBS dropped it after 3 months.

Done right, and scheduled correctly, the series could have been more successful. But back then, American sci fi shows were either trying to be The Fugitive, Star Trek or both...
 

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