Way before Tim Burton bastardized the great Rod Serling's script to create a re-imagining for the "Planet of the Apes", there was ape fever cutting a swath around the globe. The original film spawned 4 film sequels, a TV series and even an animated series… if you can believe that. And for good reason. Despite the fact that each of the original "Planet of the Apes" films received a smaller and smaller budget (which meant only the main actors had the benefit of great prosthetics), all of the films taken as a whole offered up not only an awesome science fiction tale, but a terrific morality tale as well. Whatever weaknesses the films might have held, were put to rest anytime the late Roddy McDowell stepped into make-up and took the lead as the various incarnations of chimpanzee he took on. Whether it be as the somewhat reserved Cornelius that of his son Caesar, McDowell was able to create believable, passionate and powerful characters out of what was perceived by those with limited intelligence as little more than a monkey suit.

I can still remember going to the drive-in as a kid and sitting through all five movies in a marathon that lasted 'til dawn and relishing every moment of each film.

However, I'm not here to day to yak endlessly about the "Planet of the Apes" movie series, no. But I am going to bend your ear for a few minutes to let you know that Fox Home Entertainment is re-releasing a DVD set of the entire run of the television that aired way back in 1974. The series wasn't very well-received, or actually if were the network didn’t admit it. Only 14 episodes were ever made, one of which never even aired. (Sound familiar?) However, this new set has every episode including the one that didn’t air.

The series introduced us to yet another pair of astronauts (Ron Harper and James Naughton), who head into space in the year 1981 (oh yeah… I remember reading about that…). Unfortunately when they make it back to Earth, it turns out to be Earth in the year 3085. Not surprisingly to fans of the films, they find that apes now rule the planet and are soon on the run in an attempt to escape a quickly imposed death sentence. They are befriended by Galen (Roddy McDowell), who in setting up their escape becomes as much a fugitive as they are. Together the trio tries to stay one step ahead of the villainous General Urko (Mark Lenard) who is determined to catch them.

Admittedly, the series suffered from some of the same budgetary problems that the later films did, and it succumbed to the episodic TV curse where it started to feel kind of like the 'heroes move from town to town' formula, but ultimately it was still a pretty good show. I think it would have succeeded better in today's world where sci-fi is becoming more of an accepted form of entertainment.

There are no extras included in the 4-disc set, unless you consider the unaired episode to be one. Still it's a great set to get ahold of if you're a "Planet of the Apes" completist like I am. Now I gotta track down that animated series….

Episodes:
Escape from Tomorrow
The Gladiators
The Trap
The Good Seeds
The Legacy
Tomorrow's Tide
The Surgeon
The Deception
The Horse Race
The Interrogation
The Tyrant
The Cure
The Liberator
Up Above the World So High

Starring: Roddy McDowell, Ron Harper, James Naughton, Mark Lenard
Extras: None
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 10/3/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Planet of the Apes: The Complete Series a B-.