Battle of the Planets

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* David E. Hanson
* Alan Dinehart
* Casey Kasem
* Keye Luke
* Alan Young
* Janet Waldo
* Alan Dinehart
* Ronnie Schell
* Hoyt Curtin
* Dennis Dreith
* Richard Greene
* Bob Sakuma
* USA
* Japan
* Jameson Brewer
* Sandy Frank
* David E. Hanson
* Alan Dinehart

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***Battle of the Planets*** (1978) is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series *Science Ninja Team Gatchaman* (1972). Of the 105 original *Gatchaman* episodes, 85 were used in the *Battle of the Planets* adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment. The adaptation was generally faithful to the plot and character development of the original *Gatchaman* series, but significant additions and reductions were made in order to increase appeal to the North American television market of the late 1970s, as well as avoid controversy from parents; most notable were the removal of elements of graphic violence and profanity.

As of June 2013, Sentai Filmworks have licensed the Gatchaman franchise. An oft-delayed CGI film based on the franchise, *Gatchaman*, last slated for a 2011 release from Warner Bros., was officially canceled in June 2011. However, a live-action *Gatchaman* feature film was released in Japan in August 2013.

## Opening and closing narrations

The show begins with the first narration, spoken by Bill Woodson:

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> *Battle of the Planets! G-Force! Princess! Tiny! Keyop! Mark! Jason! And watching over them from Center Neptune, their computerized coordinator, 7-Zark-7! Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies beyond space. G-Force! Fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy. Always five, acting as one. Dedicated! Inseparable! Invincible!*
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The second narration, also spoken by Woodson:

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> *Battle of the Planets! G-Force, five incredible young people with superpowers! And watching over them from Center 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!*
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The show closes with narration by Woodson:

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> *Tune in again for excitement, action and outer space adventure with...G-Force! Mark! Princess! Tiny! Keyop! Jason! And...7-Zark-7, the fantastic guardian robot of Center Neptune! Protecting the galaxy from alien invaders of other worlds! Facing untold dangers every moment of their lives! Battle of the Planets!*
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## Summary

*Battle of the Planets* cast five young people as G-Force, consisting of Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny. G-Force protects Earth from planet Spectra and other attacks from beyond space. The most prominent field commander of the Spectra forces was a villainous, masked individual known as Zoltar. Zoltar would receive his orders directly from a being he would refer to as "Luminous One". The Luminous One would appear as a ghost-like, disembodied, floating head. Who, or what this being actually was, is never explained in any detail throughout the series.

The main ship of the G-Force team was called the *Phoenix*, which could carry, transport and deploy four smaller vehicles, each operated by one team member. The four vehicles included a futuristic race car with various hidden weapons driven by Jason; this vehicle was concealed within the Phoenix's nosecone. The "galacti-cycle", a futuristic motor cycle the Princess rode, was stored within the left wing capsule of the Phoenix. Keyop's "Space Bubble", an all-terrain, tank-like vehicle capable of VTOL as well as being a submersible craft, was held in the right storage capsule of the Phoenix. And lastly, a futuristic jet fighter Mark pilots was stored in the top rear section of the Phoenix command island structure, and which used its tail fin to make up the center tail fin of the Phoenix. The fifth crew member, Tiny, was assigned to pilot the *Phoenix* rather than one of the detachable craft.

A regularly featured plot device was the transformation of the Phoenix into a flaming bird-shaped craft able to handle virtually any exceptional situation by functioning as a sort of giant, super blowtorch called the Fiery Phoenix. The *Phoenix’s* primary weapon was a supply of rockets called "TBX missiles" in the series. It also occasionally flaunted a powerful solar-powered energy blaster, although the team had the misfortune of choosing very cloudy days to use it.

The G-Force team themselves would use a combination of martial arts skill, ninja-like weapons, and their "cerebonic" powers to dispatch hordes of enemy soldiers and overcome other obstacles. Their bird-like costumes include wing-like capes that could fan out and function nearly identically to parachutes and/or wing suits, enabling the G-Force members to drift or glide down to safety from heights which would otherwise prove fatal.

The G-Force members stay in contact through a wrist-band communicator device which also serves as a way for them to change instantly into their G-Force uniforms or back into their civilian clothes. Other weapons seen displayed by various team members include: Mark's sonic boomerang, a bird-shaped boomerang with razor sharp wings; Jason's and Tiny's multi-purpose gadget guns, which can be outfitted with grappling hook and line, drill bits, etc.; and Keyop's and Princess's yo-yo bombs, which could be used as bolas, darts, and explosive devices. Other weapons include feathers with a sharpened steel quill that could be used as deadly throwing darts, and mini-grenades shaped like ball bearings with spike studs.

## Subsequent versions

 File:G-Force - group shot2.jpg
In 1986, *Gatchaman* was re-worked in the US as *G-Force: Guardians of Space* by Turner, with a good deal of the original content edited out of *Battle of the Planets* put back into the show. It followed the plot of the original *Gatchaman* much more faithfully than *Battle of the Planets* because of this. Missing was Hoyt Curtin's original score. New voice acting was used. This version, however, was criticized by fans of both *Gatchaman* and *Battle of the Planets*, and never achieved the same level of popularity.

Two soundtrack albums and several DVDs have been released.

The two Japanese follow-up series, *Gatchaman II* and *Gatchaman Fighter*, were combined into 65 episodes and released as the Saban-produced show *Eagle Riders*. All 65 episodes aired in Australia, but in the United States only 13 episodes were aired.

## Key changes in the adaptation

The *Battle of the Planets* adaptation differs significantly from *Gatchaman*. The difference is due to heavy editing made to make the show appealing to the audience in the United States by removing controversial elements (i.e. graphic violence, profanity, nudity and transgenderism) while adding elements reminiscent of the feature film *Star Wars*, which was popular at the time. In fact the name "Battle of the Planets" was an attempt to associate itself with that popularity of *Star Wars*. While the original *Gatchaman* was earthbound, dark-toned, and environmentally themed, the adaptation morphed it into a kid-friendly outer space show with robot characters, although some environmental themes were kept, and this is also why the other planets to which G-Force traveled on missions looked very much like Earth. Setting, violence, objectionable language, and most character fatalities were altered or eliminated by cutting scenes, dubbing, and explanatory voiceovers (for instance, claiming that the city had been evacuated before a battle scene that would show the incidental destruction of buildings and houses, as well as explaining away the destruction of the Earth armies and air forces as being robot tanks and fighter planes).

One of the most notable changes in the *BotP* adaptation involves the character Keyop (Jinpei in *Gatchaman*), who picked up a bizarre verbal tic of stuttering, chirping, and burbling every time he started to speak. There was a longstanding fan rumor that this was done because the original character spoke using much profanity and that Keyop's excess mouth motion would cover up deleting the words. This was not true, as demonstrated by the existence of an unedited *Gatchaman* version released by ADV Films in the USA, in which Keyop rarely if ever used profanity. The in-story explanation for Keyop's unique manner of speech is that he is an artificial life form with a speech impediment because of slightly defective genetic engineering.

The main villain, known as Zoltar in *BotP*, had an unusual background due to the hermaphroditic nature of the original Berg Katse character. In an episode where Katse's female half was featured (*BotP* title: "The Galaxy Girls"), she was introduced as a separate character, Zoltar's sister, for *BotP*. (A hint of her actual nature was retained in the name she used when masquerading as a human, Mala Latroz—"Latroz" is an anagram of "Zoltar.")

To compensate for the other differences, a robot named 7-Zark-7 performed explanatory voiceovers and light comic relief, which not only padded the time lost from editing but also filled in the gaps in the story line. This device bears the influence of contemporary *Star Wars* film, with 7-Zark-7 having a visual appearance not dissimilar from R2-D2, and a somewhat campy personality in the style of C-3PO. Notionally, 7-Zark-7 ran the undersea monitoring station Center Neptune, from where he received information regarding incoming threats to Earth and relayed that information to G-Force. Zark and other added characters, such as 1-Rover-1, Zark's robotic dog (who could hover from one side of the control room to the other by spinning his tail like a propeller, Muttley-style) and Susan (the early-warning computer whose sultry feminine voice often sent Zark into paroxysms) added to the cartoon's youth appeal. Some additional footage was also animated showing G-Force members (using their *Gatchaman* model sheets) interacting with Zark, helping his addition blend more smoothly into the existing *Gatchaman* footage (although there is a clear difference in quality between the Zark and the *Gatchaman* animation).

## Production staff

**Owned and distributed by**: Sandy Frank Entertainment (1978–2007)

**Produced by**: Sandy Frank Film Syndication, Gallerie International Films Ltd.

**Executive Producers**: Jameson Brewer, Sandy Frank

**Associate Producer**: Warner E. Leighton

**Producer-Directors**: David E. Hanson, Alan Dinehart

**Writers**: Jameson Brewer, Peter B. Germano, William Bloom, Jack Paritz, Harry Winkler, Helen Sosin, Muriel Germano, Dick Shaw, Kevin Coates, Howard Post, Sid Morse

**Supervising Film Editor**: Franklin Cofod

**Assistant Editor**: Pam Bentkowski

**Voice Director**: Alan Dinehart

**Assistant Voice Director**: Alan Dinehart Jr

**Creative Consultant**: David Levy

**Standards and Practices**: Winifred Treimer

**Program Consultants**: Leonard Reeg, George Serban, M.D.

**Production Executives**: Irving Klein, Tom Swafford

**Production Assistant**: Bob Robinson

**Production Manager**: Emil Carle

**Animation Supervisor**: Harold Johns

**Design Consultant**: Alex Toth

**Music Composers**: Hoyt S. Curtin, Dennis Dreith, Richard Greene

**Music Supervisors**: Paul DeKorte, Igo Kantor

**ADR Recording**: TV-R Hollywood

**Camera**: Take One

**Ink and Paint**: C&D Productions, Hollywood

**Titles**: Thomas Wogatzke

## Voice cast

* Alan Young as 7-Zark-7, Keyop, additional voices
* Casey Kasem as Mark, additional voices
* Ronnie Schell as Jason (regular voice), Tiny (episode 1), additional voices
* Keye Luke as Zoltar, the Spirit, Cronos, additional voices
* Janet Waldo as Princess, Susan, additional voices
* David Jolliffe as Jason (episode 1), additional voices
* Alan Oppenheimer as Commander Gorok, additional voices
* William Woodson as the Announcer, additional voices
* Alan Dinehart as Tiny (regular voice), Anderson, additional voices

Additional voices provided by:

* Takayo Fischer
* Michael Rye
* Wendy Young

## Episodes

Main article: List of Battle of the Planets episodes
## Movie

A TV movie called *Battle of the Planets: The Movie* was made by Gallerie International Films and Sandy Frank Film Syndication. David Bret Egen was the voice of 7-Zark-7. The movie was combined from several episodes to form a new story line which contained violence as well as deaths. It was considered for an uncut remake of Battle of The Planets, but was scrapped when plans changed. Sandy Frank began focusing efforts on arranging an uncut dub of Gatchaman instead.

## Comic books

Main article: Battle of the Planets (comics)
*Battle of the Planets* was also released in comic book form, originally by Gold Key Comics, but later revamped by Top Cow Productions. Among the Top Cow comic books was *Battle of the Planets: Princess*, written by David Wohl with art by Wilson Tortosa, released in 2002. A *Battle of the Planets* comic strip ran in the British *TV Comic*. The *TV Comic* issues which feature the *Battle of the Planets* strip run from #1530 (17 April 1981) to #1671 (30 December 1983). *TV Comic* also reprinted some of the Gold Key stories for two *Battle of the Planets* holiday specials and one *TV Comi*c holiday special. There was also a *Battle of the Planets* annual which reprinted some of the Gold Key stories.

## Soundtrack

*Battle of the Planets* track listing
 File:Battle of the Planets (soundtrack).jpg

1. Main Theme – Title Card
2. Dramatic Curtain
3. Ready Room
4. Alien Trap
5. BP-Mysterioso 4 – BP-Mysterioso 3 – BP-Mysterioso 2
6. BP-Teenage Mysterioso
7. Love In The Afterburner
8. 7-Zark-7's Song – Zarks Theme Alt – Zark Disco
9. Keyops 1 – Robot Hijinks
10. Firefight
11. BP-Orion Cue #1 – Orion 4 – BP-Orion Runs
12. Alien Planet
13. Two Monsters – Star Fight
14. Alien Trouble – More Alien Trouble
15. Space On Fire
16. Phoenix Raising
17. BP-108
18. BP-101 Alt – The Robot's Dog
19. BP-Sneak-Up – BP-Bad Guys
20. Return To The Alien Planet
21. BP-600 – BP600 A
22. BP-101 – BP-106 – BP-107 – BP-2002
23. Come Out, Come Out
24. BP-105 – BP-2001
25. Melting Jets
26. BP-Dialogue – BP-2025 – BP-Mysterious – BP-2020 – BP-2002
27. The Chief Alien Shows Up - Victory
28. Main Title With Voice Over
29. Emblem G
30. Spectra Visions
31. Like The Phoenix
32. Coral Reef
33. Crescent Moon
34. Holding Up A Shad
35. Zoltar, Fastening The Armor
36. Fighter G
37. Red Illusion
38. The Earth Is Alone!
39. A Vow To The Sky
40. Countdown
41. Fighting Phoenix
42. Space Chase
43. BP-1 Zark's Theme
44. Alien Planet
45. BP-1000
46. Space Mummy Trailer
47. Space Serpent Trailer
48. The Ghost Ship Of Planet Mir Trailer
49. The Luminous One (Promo Spot)
50. G-Force Vs. Zoltar (Promo Spot)
51. 7-Zark-7 And Company (Promo Spot)
52. The Luminous One #2 (Promo Spot)
53. Commander Mark, Jason (Promo Spot)
54. Princess, Tiny, Keyop (Promo Spot)
55. Battle Of The Planes 04 (Remix) – Spray
56. The Ballad Of 7 Zark 7 (Remix) – Spray

## Characters

The renaming of the various characters and terms in *Battle of the Planets* are **highlighted** as follows (in correspondence to their *Gatchaman* equivalents, among others):

### Other notable changes

‡The original Japanese-language version of Gatchaman contains a small amount of English.

## Reception

In the United Kingdom, the show was voted #42 on Channel 4's *100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows* in 2001.

The show was voted #62 on "100 Greatest Cartoons" in 2004.

According to *Wizard* magazine, *Battle of the Planets* is considered to be one of the 100 greatest animated shows.

In 2009, IGN ranked *BOTP* as the 44th greatest animated show of all time in their Top 100 list.

## Reboot

*Battle of the Planets: Phoenix Ninjas* (working title) is an upcoming animated reboot produced by Nelvana, d-rights and Tatsunoko tentatively scheduled for release in 2017. Aimed at 6-11 year old boys, the project was conceived when d-rights expressed interest in Nelvana rebooting the franchise after the success the three saw with the second generation of *Beyblade*.

## References

1. ↑ "Top 100 animated series". *IGN*. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2010-10-19. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
2. ↑ "From 'Speed' to outer space". *Japan Times*. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
3. ↑ "Battle of the Planets 25th Anniversary Collection". *IGN*. June 13, 2003. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
4. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Gatchaman". Sentai-filmworks.com. 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
5. ↑ "Battle of the Planets Vol. #2". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2013-09-09. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
6. ↑ "BBC - Cult - Classic TV - Battle of the Planets". *bbc.co.uk*. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-25. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
7. ↑ "New from Japan: Anime Film Reviews". *Animation World Network*. 2001-12-28. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *G-Force Animated - Jason Hofius, George Khoury, Alex Ross - Google Boeken*. Books.google.com. 2002-12-15. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
9. ↑ "Comic Book Review: Battle of the Planets #3". The Trades. 2002-09-23. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
10. ↑ "Battle of the Planets #1 breaks 150,000". *Comic Book Resources*. 2003-06-13. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
11. ↑ \**Silva Screen Music Soundtracks – Battle of the Planets* Archived June 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; Silva Screen Music online; accessed .
12. ↑ "100 Greatest Kids' TV shows". *Channel 4*. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
13. ↑ "'Battle of the Planets' Headed to Boomerang". *animationinsider.com*. 2004-04-05. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2008-10-25. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
14. ↑ "Battle of the Planets blasts into the 21st century". *Kidscreen*. January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
15. ↑ "Battle of the Planets/Gatchaman Gets Reboot by Beyblade Team". *Anime News Network*. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
16. ↑ "Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)". *USPTO*. March 4, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
17. ↑ Dillon, Matt (April 21, 2015). "State of the industry: Canadian kids TV". *TBI Vision*. Retrieved November 4, 2016.

## External links

* *Battle of the Planets* on IMDb
* *Battle of the Planets* at TV.com
* *Battle of the Planets* on Hulu.com

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