Planet of the Apes (1974 Television Series)

Today Matt & Todd swing back into sci‑fi television with the short‑lived but fascinating 1974 TV series: Planet of the Apes.

Long before the modern reboots, CBS took a swing at bringing the Apes universe to weekly television. The result is a real fun and earnest adventure series that carries the torch of its larger brethren surprisingly well. The TV version of Planet of the Apes is a perfect time capsule of 1970s genre television: equal parts Logan’s Run, The Incredible Hulk, and Wagon Train… but with orangutans.

The show follows astronauts Burke and Virdon, who crash‑land on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. With their chimpanzee ally Galen (played by the always‑awesome Roddy McDowall) they wander from settlement to settlement helping humans, dodging gorilla soldiers, and trying to uncover the truth behind their own timeline. Given a few more seasons to cook, this series might have carved out an enduring legacy in its own right.

What makes the show compelling today is how much time it gives the world to breathe. The humans are always in danger, but the pacing would allow for calmer exploration of culture, of power dynamics, of the uneasy coexistence between species. It’s less about revolution and more about compassion, curiosity, and the small victories of people trying to survive in a world stacked against them.

If you’re a fan of the original films, classic TV sci‑fi, or just curious how the Apes franchise reinvented itself on the small screen, this series is a fully entertaining detour. It works beautifully as a companion to the movies—distilling their energy into a slower, more thoughtful crawl, and it stands on its own as a look at the divide between those who have power and those who don’t.

It was a short run but it took a very hard swing and connected, even if it only had the one at-bat.

Why did this become a baseball analogy?

I don't know either.

It just felt right somehow...

Planet of the Apes (Television 1974) Main Cast:

• Roddy McDowall as Galen
• Ron Harper as Colonel Alan Virdon
• James Naughton as Major Peter J. Burke
• Mark Lenard as Security Chief Urko
• Booth Colman as Councillor Zaius

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