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Season 1 – Planet of the Apes

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Planet of the Apes Sep 1974 Sci-Fi Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
55% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Hurled 1,100 years into the future, astronauts Alan Virdon and Pete Burke find themselves in a society where humans are subservient to super-intelligent apes. Their situation is made more bearable by Galen, a sympathetic chimp who comes to question whether humans are, indeed, an inferior species.
Planet of the Apes — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Planet of the Apes lacks the brainy edge and tension of the cinematic franchise, but at least Roddy McDowall puts on a masterclass for acting behind a mask.

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Critics Reviews

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Gary Deeb Chicago Tribune 05/04/2021
As in the various "Apes" movies, you sometimes have to strain to understand the actors through all those gobs of monkey-masking on their faces. But unlike the better "Apes" films, virtually everything in the TV opener is implausible and childish. Go to Full Review Phil Strassberg Arizona Republic 05/04/2021
Strange as it may seem, this spinoff from the movie successes might wind up as the Star Trek of the 70s. Go to Full Review Age Staff The Age (Australia) 05/04/2021
TV, great destroyer of ideas, chopped it all up into video pulp, with no attempt to retain the threads or develop intelligently the original ideas. Perhaps it proves humans ARE inferior! Go to Full Review Frank Penn Ottawa Citizen 05/05/2021
There is only so much fascination to watching Roddy McDowell dragging his knuckles along the floor as an ape with sex appeal, or watching the rest of the ape-cast trying to move their false lips to match their words. Go to Full Review Dwight Newton San Francisco Examiner 05/04/2021
Episode One consists of primitive sci-fi adventures aimed directly on target at anthropoidal intellects. Roddy McDowall is fascinating as a chimp named Galen. Go to Full Review Jim O'Brien Philadelphia Daily News 05/04/2021
Maybe I was lucky. I saw the first 15 minutes of Planet of the Apes without sound. I liked it better that way. Okay, maybe that's not fair, but it might be if you carefully weigh the quality of the dialogue. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Max W @MaxthorWoo 07/10/2024 Set in the Planet of the Apes universe, this road trip-themed series features a new story in each episode with a light-hearted and humorous tone. While it downplays the themes of the original novel and films, it remains engaging and entertaining as a cultural clash adventure. See more Jeremy H @RT62868208 11/03/2023 One of the very best TV series of all time. Takes the original movies and does so much more with the premise - Fantastic See more Dave S @RT88116482 07/11/2021 Good cast . Some good stories could have been better See more 06/11/2018 explores juxtaposed social context, with subjective thematic interpretations of events See more Read all reviews
Planet of the Apes — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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Roddy McDowall

Galen

Ron Harper

Alan Virdon

James Naughton

Pete Burke

Mark Lenard

Urko

Booth Colman

Guest Star

Pat Renella

Guest Star

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 13, 1974 Escape From Tomorrow Two astronauts crash on an Earth of the future where apes rule and people are considered to be animals. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 20, 1974 The Gladiators Burke and Virdon happen upon a village where humans are trained to fight each other to the death -- gladiator style. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 27, 1974 The Trap While exploring the remains of San Francisco, an earthquake causes Burke to become trapped with Urko in an old subway tunnel. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 4, 1974 The Good Seeds The astronauts are forced to take refuge at a farm run by a gorilla family when Galen is seriously injured in a fall. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 11, 1974 The Legacy Virdon, Burke and Galen learn that a wealth of information about the past is buried somewhere in the ruins of a one-time city. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 18, 1974 Tomorrow's Tide Virdon and Burke are captured and enslaved by the head of a fishing colony. Details Episode 7 Aired Oct 25, 1974 The Surgeon Galen seeks the aid of his former fiancee, a surgeon at the Medical Center, when Virdon is shot by a gorilla patrol. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 1, 1974 The Deception A blind ape falls in love with Burke, not realizing he is a human. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 8, 1974 The Horse Race Virdon rides in a horse race for the life of a blacksmith's son. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 15, 1974 The Interrogation A scientist tries ancient brainwashing techniques on captured Burke. Details Episode 11 Aired Nov 22, 1974 The Tyrant The fugitives embark on a plan to remove a corrupt district chief from office. Details Episode 12 Aired Nov 29, 1974 The Cure The astronauts make quinine for a malaria-devastated village. Details Episode 13 Aired Dec 6, 1974 The Liberator The astronauts are captured by a band of humans who are allowed to remain free only if they continue to supply the gorillas with human captives. Details Episode 14 Aired Dec 20, 1974 Up Above the World So High The astronauts help a captured human perfect a glider while being studied by a scientist who is very interested in the secret of flight. Details

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Season Info

Screenwriter
Edward J. Lasko, Robert W. Lenski, Walter Black, Arthur Browne Jr., David P. Lewis, Anthony Lawrence, Howard Dimsdale, Barry Oringer, Richard Collins, Booker Bradshaw
Network
CBS
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Sci-Fi, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 13, 1974