by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners! In honor of a new movie release, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
For May, I picked the Planet of the Apes TV series to pair with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes!
The original Planet of the Apes film is sci-fi royalty with amazing performances and makeup, and one of the greatest twists in cinematic history. It spawned several sequels, a remake, and a reboot series. The latest entry, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, has a strong story about the corruption of a message to be used for personal gain. The power of words and how people use them has always been a central theme of the movies, and the 1974 TV series is another example of how words can be twisted and the power that a corrupt system can have over a civilization.
Planet of the Apes the TV series takes place several centuries before the original movie. Two astronauts, Colonel Alan Virdon (Ron Harper) and Major Peter Burke (James Naughton), crash on a future Earth that is populated by apes. As they strive to figure out how to escape, the leadership of the planet is thrust into chaos when Galen (Roddy McDowall) discovers a book that will cause him to question everything he’s been taught about his species.
The series still holds several of the same amazing aspects of the original movie that made it great in the first place. The makeup and the costumes are the strongest aspects of the movies, and the show continues this legacy. Set design, along with a wonderfully natural setting, make for a wild and intriguing Earth that is a shell of its former self. As always, the cinematography is off the charts. Some of the shots this series gets rival movies of the time. Of all the technical aspects of the series, the music might be the strongest it has ever been in the series.
Perhaps the biggest thing that the series keeps consistent, though, is McDowall’s involvement. As a mainstay of the franchise playing both Caesar and Cornelius in the original films, McDowall’s presence is comforting because he understands what it takes to play an ape in this universe. It was a smart idea to bring him back because he has a unique perspective of this series that rivals no one else in Hollywood.
In addition, Galen is the perfect character for this series. In a way, he’s playing a similar character that he plays in all the movies: someone who discovers the truth of his heritage that is counter to what he originally knew. McDowall beautifully brings to life the pain and anger that Galen feels upon this discovery. Without him, I don’t think this series would work as well as it does.
Harper and Naughton do amazing work as the two astronauts who try to figure out how to get home. Both Virdon and Burke are out of their original time, and they do a great job of conveying that confusion and devastation. It’s impossible to replace Charlton Heston from the original, and the series mirrors a lot of what happens in the original movie. What makes the series different, though, is an attempt to move beyond the initial discovery that Earth is now inhabited by apes. There’s no way to replicate that twist, so the series moves forward with two protagonists who start with wanting to go home, but stay invested in helping Galen especially get out of the situation he finds himself in.
The series still features a corrupt government that tries to silence anyone who goes against them. Led by Zaius (Booth Colman) and his enforcer/the main antagonist of the series, Urko (Mark Lenard), this society has been built to understand that apes have always dominated their world. Virdon and Burke’s presence shifts that perspective, but they also give some evidence of a world in which humans dominated the world. This establishes a life before apes took over the planet on a deeper level than any of the original films and a connection to the other movies about how the ape’s continued domination of man looms large even before all the movies.
Planet of the Apes the TV series is a great addition to the franchise and the best TV series it has. (Yes, I concede the other option is an animated show revolving around the Return to the Planet of the Apes.) This series is more intimately connected to the other movies and it still has McDowall to drive home a great character. It’s a great addition to the franchise and one that deserves a little more time in the sun.
You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd