"Battle of the Planets" (1978) TV series 1978-1985

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

David E. Hanson

Writers:

William Bloom (writer) (1978)
Kevin Paul Coates (writer) (1978)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

18 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A five-member superhero team called G-Force fights to defend Earth and its space colonies from the threat of the planet Spectra.

Plot Keywords:

Leader | Superhero | Robot | Friend | Manga

Cast

Alan Young

...

7-Zark-7 / ... (unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

"G-Force" (USA) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-Y7 | Australia:PG (DVD rating)

Company:

Gallerie International Films Ltd.

Trivia:

The plume of smoke that erupts from the Turtle King when it explodes was cut from the American version. Apparently it was thought that it would be too confusing to see real smoke in an animated show.

Quotes:

[opening narration]
Narrator: Battle of the Planets! G-Force, five incredible young people with superpowers! And watching over them from Centre Neptune, 7-Zark-7! Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies from beyond space. G-Force! Fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy. Always five, acting as one. Dedicated! Inseparable! Invincible!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Megas XLR: S-Force S.O.S. (#2.5)" (2004)

y'all make me feel so old...

Reading the comments here, I felt so old. A recent marathon on "Boomerang" brought me back to my teen years. I was weird, and old enough to remember the original showings of "Astro Boy", "Gigantor", "Kimba, The White Lion", and other early anime on US TV. It had been awhile, and I found this, (this is before even "Star Blazers" or "Robotech"). I was a freshman, (perhaps a sophomore), and this showed up in syndication, pry out of Kansas City. I caught every episode I could. It had obviously seen some editing, yet suprising moments of violence remained now and then. Over the years, I've found that 7-Zark-7/1-Rover-1, were padding to cover time lost when violence was removed, (Mark and Princess's weapons were quite nasty, especially Princess's yo-yo!). I've wandered into the TBS "G-Force" a time or two, and, while potentially truer to the source, it just doesn't have the class of this. The soundtrack is very good, and probably quite desired by fans. It didn't change my life, but it was a fun program to watch often. I hope that the Boomerang marathon, which must contain the whole damn thing, is a sign of it's renewed availability. Japanese animation in America, without the incessant merchandising! Geez, this is before "Transformers", or "Go-Bots"! Nice to see it again!