Set around a dozen years after the 1967 Charlton Heston-starring Oscar winner of the same name, this Planet of the Apes is a 1974 TV spin-off that attempts to recapture the appeal of the original apes films. A second spaceship arrives on the planet, the basic plot being the same as in 67, as two surviving humans go on the run with a renegade chimpanzee, Galen (Roddy McDowell essentially reprising his Cornelius character under another name). The actor provides the strongest lead, while Booth Colman as Zaius (replacing Maurice Evans from the original film), offers fine support. The humans Ron Harper and James Naughton are relatively bland, a buddy duo very much anticipating Starsky and Hutch, while the stories, in which our heroes have a new adventure each week and then move on, fall very much into the formula that dominated earlier shows such as The Fugitive, Star Trek and Alias Smith and Jones. This is a post-apocalyptic world where everyone has perfect hair and make-up. But if the action and effects are limited, at least that gives the stories room to concentrate on some moral debates about the nature of human violence. A show finally hamstrung by the tight limitations of its formula, Planet of the Apes: The Television Series lasted only 14 episodes and was cancelled so abruptly it lacks any resolution. Nevertheless its reappearance offers a welcome chance to reassess it in context with the classic movies it apes. On the DVD: Planet of the Apes: The Television Series is presented on four discs, including all 14 episodes. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 colour picture is excellent considering the show's age. Print damage is minor though occasionally quite noticeable, and there is some fading in a few shots. Otherwise this is the best these shows have ever looked. The only extras are trailers for the movie box set and for Tim Burton's 2001 cinema "reimagining". --Gary S Dalkin
Captain Kirk and the intrepid crew of the Starship Enterprise set sail for their final season of mind-blowing small screen adventures. The final mission of the original Starship Enterprise is one no science fiction fan can afford to be without. Episodes comprise: 1. Spock's Brain 2. The Enterprise Incident 3. The Paradise Syndrome 4. And the Children Shall Lead 5. Is There In Truth No Beauty? 6. Spectre Of The Gun 7. Day Of The Dove 8. For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky 9. The Tholian Web 10. Plato's Stepchildren 11. Wink Of An Eye 12. The Empath 13. Elaan Of Troyius 14. Whom Gods Destroy 15. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield 16. The Mark Of Gideon 17. That Which Survives 18. The Lights Of Zetar 19. Requiem For Methuselah 20. The Way To Eden 21. The Cloudminders 22. The Savage Curtain 23. All Our Yesterdays 24. Turnabout Intruder
Steve Austin returns for three more exhilarating action-packed adventures: ""Day of the Robot"" ""Run Steve Run"" and ""Return of the Robot Maker"".
The only law a gun, the only shelter wild bush... In August 1851, the discovery of gold in Ballarat, Australia, sent shockwaves across the world. Hordes of adventurers flocked to the new land of the golden dream, encountering a harsh, frequently violent land. Despoiled by bushrangers, brutalised by the old convict system and torn by class conflicts, it took a certain kind of settler to rise to the challenges of the new country. Boston-born Christopher Cobb is one of those people. Seasoned with experience gained in the Californian gold rush, Chris's job is to find rights of way through the arid terrain of New South Wales, survey new lines of communication, and secure lucrative contracts for his expanding stagecoach business. He is a gentleman, yet no stranger to violence, and possesses an inherent hatred of injustice in any form - a trait that leads him into highly dangerous situations. In a land that has no sympathy for weaklings, Chris becomes whatever man he needs to be to. American actor Peter Graves (Mission: Impossible) brought his sun-bleached good looks to this joint venture between ATV/ ITC and the Australian Seven Network, with input from an American production crew and writers, Whiplash transposed the frontier drama of the classic western to the heat and dust of the bush and Cobb defended himself with a bullwhip rather than a pistol. First broadcast in the UK in 1960, Whiplash features fast-moving scripts, including several by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and a memorably rousing theme composed by Edwin Astley and sung by international star Frank Ifield. This complete series is released here for the very first time.
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